Ob La Di, Ob La Do
by feronia.wings
Summary: Toshiro Hitsugaya is the new guy in the most popular band around, the Soul Reapers. Join him, Renji, Ichigo, Hisagi, and, of course, Momo, as they take the music world by storm! Primarily HitsuHina, IchiRuki on the side. Other pairings later!
1. At The Beginning

Disclaimer: Like so many before me, if I owned Bleach, would I be writing fanfiction? I think not. I don't own any of the songs mentioned in this fic either, except on my ipod!

* * *

Momo awoke to the piercing ringtone of her cell going off in her ear. Groaning, she grabbed the offensive device and flipped it open.

"'Ello?" she slurred into the phone, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"MOMO!" she winced as the extremely loud voice of her friend Renji yelling through the phone.

"What is it Renji? I'm kinda tired, so make it fast, kay…?"

"WHAT THE HELL?! DID YOU COMPLETELY FORGET MOMO, WE'RE HOLDING AUDITIONS FOR OUR NEW LEAD GUITARIST THIS MORNING!"

Momo's eyes instantly whipped open. "Oh, no!" was all Renji heard before the dial tone rang through his phone, conveniently placed on speakerphone in the middle of the room. He let out a guffaw of laugher.

"And that, gentlemen, is how it's done." He told the room's occupants with a smirk, as he picked his phone up again and slid it into his jean's pocket, still chuckling.

"God, that Momo. What are we going to do with her?" Ichigo asked, grabbing onto his sides to keep from shaking with laugher.

"Well, that's Momo for you." Hisagi chuckled.

* * *

This was the band the Soul Reapers.

Lead Vocalist: Momo Hinamori

Bass Guitarist: Ichigo Kurosaki

Rhythm Guitarist: Shuuhei Hisagi

Drummer: Renji Abarai

Lead Guitar: Used to be Izuru Kira. Left due to entrance into a prestigious school.

Currently searching for a new one.

And this was just an average morning.

* * *

Momo eventually tripped into the studio about 15 minutes later.

"It's 'bout time Momo! You know, for our frontman, you sure do come in late a lot of the time." Ichigo called from the couch, where he was tuning one of his many guitars. "And don't think I didn't see you trip on your way in here, cause I did."

The girl gave him one of her famous warm smiles. "Sorry Ichigo. I was up late again."

"Aww, Momo, not again!" Hisagi laughed from his perch on the swivel chair in front of the desk, typing away on his laptop.

Renji, sitting next to Ichigo on the coach, just frowned at Momo.

"Yeah, that again." Momo said. "I just can't help it sometimes."

"Don't worry about it Momo, we're just teasing you, you know that." Ichigo scowled at her. "But still, keep up with this whole 'I'm-going-to-stay-up-until-4-in-the-morning-thing', and there will be consequences."

"I'm feeling them right now, thanks very much." Momo groaned as she slumped into a comfy chair.

"Ok, we've gotta be over there in 10 minutes to find our new lead guitarist. Let's move it guys! And Momo!" Hisagi added as an afterthought, making for the door.

As everyone started to leave, Renji stopped Momo.

"Are you having those… nightmares again?" Renji quietly asked.

Momo looked down, biting on her lip, as she slowly nodded her head yes.

Renji sighed. "Momo…"

"I know, I know." The tiny girl sighed as well. "But… I can't stop them, Renji. I can go months without having one, and then, just like that, they come back."

Renji looked down at her in concern. Renji, Kira, and Momo were the original members of the Soul Reapers. Ichigo and Hisagi, friends of Renji, joined in later, but those three were the originals. They were close friends, who had managed to beat out thousands of other bands to get a contract with Seireitei Studios.

They were doing pretty well at the moment, their first album having sold out in a matter of days, but Kira had recently been accepted into some really good university that he didn't want to pass up. Almost right after he had left, the Soul Reapers had been invited to go on tour with the Death Gods. So, of course, they were now searching for a new lead guitarist. Which was proving a lot easier said than done.

* * *

"Next!" Ichigo called, yawning.

Momo smiled at the heartbroken young man. "We'll call and let you know how you did later, okay?" He nodded mutely. "There are snacks in the room next door, go help yourself!" He walked away, as if in a daze, to the room in the back.

"Man, I wish we'd get some real talent in here already." Hisagi said, eyes narrowed.

"We've had some pretty good guitarists come through here already, you know." Momo pointed out. "But you guys don't seem to want to give any of them the time of day!"

That was because almost all of those 'pretty good guitarists' had been eyeing Momo as if she was the first girl they'd ever seen in their lives. And anyone who messed with Momo had to deal with them.

"Yeah, well, they weren't that good Momo." Renji snorted.

"Oh, come on Renji! That last one was fairly decent!"

"That's 'cause you're too nice for your own good, Momo." Hisagi retorted.

"But it's true!"

"Ok ok, calm down. Look, if the next guy sucks, let's go ahead and call it a day. We can go get some pizza or something." Ichigo said. At that moment, his stomach let out a loud growl.

"Sounds good, I didn't get breakfast this morning."

"What? Momo…"

"Renji, quit worrying! I'm a big girl, y'know." Momo laughed at her friend, poking him in the ribs.

"Why, you…"

Soon, an all out tickle war was taking place as Hisagi and Ichigo watched on, very amused by their friends' antics.

"Hey."

* * *

I stepped into the room fully expecting to see the four band members of the Soul Reapers sitting around, politely waiting to hear me play. What I found was two of them, Ichigo and Hisagi, watching the other two, Renji and Momo, tickle each other to death. You could say at the very least I was surprised.

They didn't even notice me. I was forced to speak up.

"Hey."

The two that had been watching turned around with guilty expressions on their faces. The other two didn't even acknowledge my presence.

"Hey, Toshiro!" shouted Ichigo.

"It's Hitsugaya to you, Kurosaki." I retorted.

"You know him?" Hisagi asked the carrot top.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, we go way back. Used to be on the same soccer team. I invited him over here. He's pretty good, right, Toshiro?"

"Hitsugaya!"

"Whatever."

At this point, the other two finally reappeared. The tall, tattooed redhead crossed his arms and glared while the girl peered over the top of the sofa at me.

I knew that that was Momo Hinamori. She had raven black hair tied into a high ponytail and chocolate eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts.

She was prettier in person. Every other magazine wrote every detail about Momo the public could eat up, because at the moment, she happened to be the most popular celebrity musician. It couldn't be helped; she was the only girl in an extremely popular all-guy band (other than herself, of course), the lead vocalist, no less, with an amazing voice.

"What song?" Renji asked, frowning. I glared back.

"Voodoo Child by Jimmy Hendrix."

Hisagi raised his eyebrows as Renji snorted in disbelief and Ichigo scrutinized me. Momo just continued to watch, curiosity burning in her eyes. I thought it strange that she had yet to speak up.

"Well, go ahead." Ichigo finally said, flapping a hand at me.

"With pleasure." I retorted, scowling. He hadn't changed _at all_.

* * *

I peered over the top of the couch at the new mystery guy. And, _wow_. He had spiky white hair and teal eyes that seemed to look into your very soul. He had a couple inches on me, reminding me of just how short I really am. He was frowning, a lot like Ichigo usually does, and I could see why they would become friends. They both had that punk aura about them, but it was all a façade. Deep down, there was probably a completely different person inside.

_Toshiro Hitsugaya._

He stood, all alone, in the middle of the room, holding his white and blue guitar, strumming a few notes to make sure it was tuned properly. He suddenly looked up, and our eyes met. I instantly felt my face heat up. He smirked.

And he began to play.

He hit every note perfectly. It was amazing. His fingers were like lightning on the neck of the guitar.

I felt my eyes widen. _Oh, wow! If the guys don't like him, then they're all tone deaf!_

I looked up to see the others' reactions. Ichigo had a strangely triumphant expression on his face, Hisagi looked about as amazed as I felt, and Renji was still scowling at Toshiro. I watched Renji for a moment, wondering what his problem was.

Eventually, Toshiro ended the song with a flourish. I cheerfully clapped my hands, the others joining in, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"I knew you still had it in you." Ichigo smirked as he got up and playfully punched the shorter boy in the arm.

Toshiro quirked an eyebrow. "What made you think it ever left?"

"Shut up." Ichigo retorted, that familiar frown returning to his face.

"Group huddle." Hisagi called, walking away from Toshiro.

"What do you guys think?" Ichigo asked.

"I like him." I spoke up instantly. "He played the song to the letter, and let's face it, that's not exactly an easy song to play. Even Hisagi has problems playing it."

Hisagi nodded. "I agree."

"He's great, huh?" Ichigo smiled knowingly.

We all turned to Renji, who still had his arms crossed, still with a grimace on his face. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever you guys want." He muttered, looking away.

I frowned at him. Just a little. "Renji, we all have to be in agreement. If you're not completely positive…"

"He's talented, alright?!" Renji growled.

"Ok, all in favor of Toshiro joining the band, say 'ai!'" Ichigo said.

"Ai!" Me and Hisagi instantly spoke up, Renji following a beat behind us.

"It's settled then." Ichigo said smugly. Turning around, he yelled, "Oi, Toshiro!"

"Hitsugaya!" he retorted, annoyed.

"Shut up, welcome to the band!" Ichigo said happily, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders.

For a moment, the frown that creased Toshiro's face vanished, replaced by surprise. "Really?"

"What, you think I'd joke about something like this? Congrats, man!" Ichigo chuckled, giving Toshiro a noogie.

"What the hell?! Get off, Kurosaki!" Toshiro shouted as everyone laughed as the white haired guitarist tried to squirm out of Ichigo's headlock.

_This is going to be a lot of fun._ Momo decided as she watched her bandmates joke around.

"Now, let's get some celebratory pizza! I'm starving and need nourishment!" Ichigo shouted, throwing his arms over his head as he led the way out of the studio and into the sun.

* * *

Ok, first chapter. What do you guys think so far? If I made any mistakes with the references to guitars, bands, etc., please let me know so I can fix it!

I was very apprehensive to post this, let me just let you know right now. Several other authors have posted similar stories, but they were all discontinued. (Or, at least, it appears that way. I figure not updating since 2007 counts as discontinuing.) So if I don't get enough support behind this, I will discontinue this story as well… woah, I sound depressing! I'll probably update anyway, I love this idea too much to let it die! ^^

The name of the story is the name of a love song by the Beatles. If you've ever heard it, you know it's perfect~!

Well, anyway, thanks for reading, and please review!


	2. Dirty Little Secret

They walked down the street to the local pizza place, where the studio celebrities could eat in peace without being bombarded by fans. They were quickly seated in a booth together, looking over their menus hungrily. After ordering, they happily blew their straw sleeves at each other, laughing and joking. Eventually, Hisagi broke the merry get together.

"So, Hitsugaya. What's your story?"

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression I had just joined the Soul Reapers, the band least likely to spill their pasts to anyone."

And it was true. The Soul Reapers were not only well known for their amazing musical talent, but also their refusal to give their backstories out to anyone. No matter how many interviews they endured, never once did any magazine, tabloid, or TV show manage to get the scoop on their mysterious pasts.

"True. We hide our pasts from others. But amongst us, we know just about everything." Renji smirked. He had relaxed considerably in the amiable atmosphere.

"Well, if you want to hear about me, tell me about yourselves first." Toshiro demanded. "What're your tragic stories you don't want to tell the world?"

"You already know mine..." Ichigo mumbled off, taking a sip of his water.

"Mine's not tragic, but it_ is_ personal. I was attacked by a criminal." Hisagi explained. "Saved by this guy… He had a 69 tattooed on his chest, which inspired me to get my tattoo on my face. I owe that guy my life."

"I always thought it was cause you were gay." Renji teased.

"Shut up." Hisagi muttered, glaring at Renji as he took another drink from his beer.

"As for me." Renji continued, ignoring Hisagi. "I grew up on the streets. Me and my friends, we looked out for each other. But, there was this accident, and…they all died. So," Renji continued, a stoic mask on his face, hiding his emotions. "me and my friend, Rukia, we were taken into foster care. We were best friends, me and Rukia. Then one day, she was gone. Got adopted by some rich guy. But y'know what?" Renji looked Toshiro straight in the eye. "I'm glad I was put in foster care. It was there that I met Kira and Momo, and those two helped me through a really hard time." He smiled at Momo, who smiled shyly back at him. "There was a music program for kids like us, and that's how the Soul Reapers came to be. Simple as that."

Toshiro sat there for a moment, letting it all sink in. Finally, he turned to the last member, the one who, as of yet, had not said a single word to him. Momo.

"Well?" he cocked an eyebrow at her. "What about you?"

Momo stared at him for a moment. A number of emotions were pulsing through her eyes. Hurt, sadness, fear… it was amazing, the things she was telling him without saying a word. That's when it hit Toshiro. _She spoke with her eyes._

"Momo's story is for her to tell." Renji spoke up, warily eyeing the new lead guitarist. "All you need to know for now is that she grew up with me and Kira in foster care. Got it, kid?"

A vein pulsed angrily in Toshiro's forehead. "What did you just call me?"

Renji smirked. "A kid. Why, got a problem with that, shrimp?"

"Don't call me a kid." Toshiro stated in a cold, icy tone. "Or shrimp." He added as an afterthought.

"Make me." Renji smirked, enjoying Toshiro's anger.

"Why you-" Toshiro began, only to be interrupted by a quiet voice.

"C'mon you guys, please stop fighting. We're here to welcome Hitsugaya into the band, not pick fights. Right, Renji?" Momo turned to Renji, eyes pleading with him to calm down.

Much to Toshiro's surprise and everyone else's amusement, Renji instantly stopped, instead snorting and looking away, drinking from his beer and muttering something under his breath.

Toshiro looked over at the girl. She had been awfully quiet ever since the audition. He hadn't heard her say a word. Not till now. Her voice… it was hushed and shy. He couldn't imagine her yelling. He was also confused by her behavior. She had stopped a fight from breaking out between the two, but he couldn't help but wonder if she had been… sticking up for him?

_Don't be ridiculous, Toshiro_, he told himself. _She just didn't want to get kicked out of the restaurant._

Finally, their food arrived, and the hungry group dug in.

* * *

Tee hee! Can't you just feel the love from that little bonding session oozing out of your computer screen? ;3

So, Chapter 2. (It was so short! Next chapter will be longer, I promise!) I decided to name each chapter after a song that best fits what the chapter's about. Dirty Little Secret by the All-American Rejects seemed appropiate for this. And I changed the name of the story… I didn't realize how many people were already using Laughter in the Rain for their stories! Plus, Ob La Di, Ob La Do actually suits it much better, so… what do you all think??

Oh, yes, thanks for the reviews **kRyStAlt3aRz, Moonlight-Milkyway, JoaNyMar12, Momo – Toshiro, HEDGEHOGZ, and Kalow!**

It's nice to see so many people coming back from Hide and Go Seek! ^^

I haven't decided yet whose POV this is going to be from… obviously, this is Toshiro's POV, but I'm thinking of changing it up every chapter. But at the same time, I find it surprisingly easy to type in Shiro-chan's POV, so… I don't know, I'll just type whatever comes to mind and see how it goes~!

Thanks for reading and please review! X3

P.s., for those of you following Tag, Chapter 2 should be up very soon!


	3. Fly Away From Here

Toshiro looked at the huge tour bus he was going to live in for the next few months with his new band members. He reminisced back to the conversation from a couple days ago…

* * *

FLASHBACK!

"_So, when do we go on this tour?" Toshiro asked one day, sitting on the couch with his guitar, mindlessly tuning it._

"_Uh, let's see…" Hisagi mumbled, getting up and looking at the calendar with a happy apple smiling at them. "We leave this Thursday."_

_Toshiro nodded. However, Momo, who had been absentmindedly playing a board game with Ichigo and Renji, looked up, eyes wide in panic._

"_Wait, _this_ Thursday?" she asked, her voice shocked._

"_Yeah." Hisagi smirked at her as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't tell me you forgot, Momo."_

"_O-of course not!" Momo stammered, blushing a brilliant shade of red. "Well, would you look at the time! I'm meeting a friend in 10, so I'll see you guys later."_

_And with that, the scarlet girl practically ran out of the room, tripping over an invisible crack in the floor as she keelhauled it into the hallway and darted out of sight._

_As soon as she disappeared from view, the others burst out laughing, leaving Toshiro very confused._

"_What just happened?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

"_That, shrimp," Renji began, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "was our frontman forgetting the day we leave to go on tour. The day she scheduled for us to go 2 months ago."_

_At this, even Toshiro chuckled a little._

* * *

Snapping out of his daydream, Toshiro let the smallest of a smile grace his lips. It completely amazed him how one girl could be so clueless sometimes. Sure, there was no denying Momo was responsible. However, it would seem her easygoing personality caused her to let things slip her mind, _all the time._

Speak of the devil, here she came now. She had a guitar case in one hand, a plastic grocery bag in the other, and a backpack stuffed full of who knows what over her shoulder. Her hair was, as usual, up in its ponytail. She smiled at him as she approached.

"Morning, Hitsugaya." She said cheerily as she set the guitar case down at her feet.

"Hey, Momo." He greeted, "I'm surprised you made it on time."

She pouted at him. "That's mean. I can wake up on time every once in awhile, y'know."

"Sure, sure." He replied lazily, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"The others aren't here yet, huh?" she asked, looking around.

"Not that I've seen."

"Gah." Was all she said as she pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open.

Only a minute later, she flipped it closed again. "Where could they be?" she wondered, looking off.

"What, you don't want to be alone with me?" Toshiro smirked, knowing how she was going to react. He had easily picked up on her personality in the last couple of days.

"What?! N-no, I don't mind being with you! Not at all!" she practically yelled, face flushing and arms waving all over the place. Toshiro chuckled.

"I was just teasing." He stated calmly.

"Oh, oh of course! I knew that." She flushed an even brighter red, if that was possible.

Before Toshiro could say another word, Ichigo and Renji showed up.

"Just admit your wrong and I'll let go!" Ichigo growled as he held Renji in a headlock.

"I'm telling you, a baby whale is called a calf!" Renji shouted.

"And I'm telling you, that's what a baby cow's called!"

"Then what's a baby whale called?!"

"A… a whalite!"

"… What the hell?" Hisagi asked, walking up from behind them, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. Momo giggled behind her hand as Toshiro sighed.

"Are these two usually this stupid when they're together?" He asked Hisagi as Ichigo and Renji began beating each other up.

"For the most part." Hisagi replied, rubbing his neck.

"C'mon you guys, stop fighting. We're leaving as soon as-"

"I'm here!" the voice of their manager, Rangiku Matsumoto, shouted happily, as she bounced into view. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at her extremely revealing outfit, but he was used to it by now. He had met her the same day he had been accepted into the band. It was an encounter he would never forget…

* * *

ZOMG, ANOTHER FLASHBACK!!

_The group entered the dimmed lights of the studio about an hour later, laughing at something Renji had said. Little did they know there was danger lurking just around the corner…_

"_Hey!" A loud voice shouted from behind them. A tall, strawberry blonde woman with quite the… chest… jumped out from behind the door, her arms crossed and a pout on her lips. "What's this? You picked out your new lead guitarist without even telling me, your manager?? Do I smell rebellion in the air?"_

"_Nope, that would be the sweet, sweet smell of pizza and friendship." Renji teased her._

"_I'm serious! I'm, like, the first one who's supposed to know! I think…" she mumbled off. Turning to Toshiro, she peered at him. Just as he was beginning to get uncomfortable under her steady gaze, she flashed him a grin and gave him a hug, nearly suffocating him._

"_Aww! You're so cute!" she cooed. Toshiro ducked out of her arms, scowling. What was wrong with her?_

"_I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, your manager! I'm still pretty new at this, so go easy on me, okie dokie? Okie dokie!" she yelled, waving her arms over her head._

_Toshiro turned away from her, but just before he did, he could have sworn he saw Rangiku wink at Momo, who promptly turned beet red. But then again, it could have been his imagination…_

* * *

No, what did make him take a double take was the amount of luggage she was planning on bringing with her. Unlike Momo, who had only brought a backpack, Rangiku appeared to have brought along her entire closet.

"I see that look, Hitsugaya! No, I did not pack my entire closet." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Sure you didn't." he replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Ok guys, gather round." Momo called, opening up her plastic grocery bag.

Ichigo and Renji instantly stopped fighting. They formed a loose circle around Momo, who began to rummage through the bag. Toshiro watched on, curiously.

"Renji, deck of cards." Momo handed Renji said item. "Ichigo, Halo 3, Hisagi, comic books, Rangiku, magazines, and Hitsugaya…" she shyly looked up at him through her bangs. "I had to guess for you, but I though you might like this… Sorry if you don't…" she handed him a thick book. Toshiro looked down at the cover. It was a music book. Flipping through it, he found music sheets for the guitar. There had to be hundreds of songs. He looked up at her, startled. She had known exactly what he could spend hours doing.

"Sorry! I have the receipt right here, I can take it back, I'm sure you can get something else…" she said hastily, searching through her bag, obviously mistaking his expression for one of disgust rather than surprise.

"No, I love it. Thank you." He said. Momo smiled sheepishly at him.

"Ok kiddies, let's get this show on the road! First stop's in two days." Rangiku said as she hopped onto the bus, waving at the driver as she dragged her luggage onboard.

The others followed close behind. Near the front was a kitchenette, complete with fridge, oven, and microwave on one side, and a booth built into the side of the other. Along one side of the bus were bunks, one on top of the other, eight in total. Curtains were available to give the occupants of the beds some privacy. On the wall opposite the bunks were drawers and closets. Further back was a lounge like area, with a couch, a coffee table, some chairs, and a large plasma T.V. Across from this was the bathroom, with a toilet, sink, and an extremely small shower. Rangiku was currently sulking at the shower.

"What a pathetic shower! I'll barely fit in it, let alone bath in it." She said, scowling at the shower unhappily. She suddenly brightened. "Oh well, no use crying over spillt milk!" she sang off key, slamming the door of the bathroom shut and breaking the sound barrier.

"Please, Ran, leave the singing to Momo." Renji groaned, playfully sticking a finger in his ear.

"Oh, shuddup, the lot of you! Except for you, Momo." Rangiku said, turning to the tiny girl and squishing her in a tight hug. "You're adorable, so you can say whatever you want!"

"Thanks." Momo gasped as she was suffocated in Rangiku's chokehold of a hug.

"I call this bunk!" Hisagi shouted, hopping into one of the beds near the back of the bus by the lounge. Ichigo and Renji soon began fighting for the same bunk next to Hisagi's. Hisagi smirked at Rangiku.

"Which bunk are you getting, Ran?" he asked. Toshiro saw that he had grabbed a bottom bunk, obviously hoping the busty woman would get the top one so he would get a lovely view. However, for all Rangiku's looks, she was not falling for that.

"Oh, I'm getting that one way at the front, by the kitchen, with Momo. Right, Momo?" she said, not waiting for the girl's reply as she dragged her to the bunks by the front. "Which do you want, top or bottom?"

"I'll take the top." Momo said humbly, crawling up the ladder with her backpack.

"Ok, works for me!" Rangiku cheered, beginning to unpack her luggage into the drawer across from her bunk.

Hisagi looked put out, making Toshiro smirk. Renji had won the battle for the bunk, which was next to Rangiku's near the front of the bus. Ichigo was frowning, obviously fuming at losing to the redhead. He had started to climb up the ladder to the top bunk when Toshiro stepped up.

"No way. You get that one." Toshiro stated, pointing at the top bunk over Hisagi's. Ichigo's frown deepened.

"Why?" he growled.

"Cause we don't need you idiots fighting all night."

Ichigo's face darkened further with this new (and very true) logic.

"Fine." He spat as he jumped down from the ladder and slouched over to the other bunk.

"Hey Ichigo, once we're done unpacking, I'll go ahead and show you how to play Halo!" Renji shouted, rubbing salt in the wound.

Ichigo gave him the finger as he disappeared into the bunk. Renji chuckled as he continued unpacking. Suddenly, Momo's head popped out of her bunk. She had a blank expression on her face as she stared into space for a minute. The bus started, and horror dawned on her face.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" she yelled as she scrambled down the ladder. At the bottom, she jumped and sprinted to the door of the bus. Along the way, she fell face first into the floor.

"Momo! Are you ok?" Rangiku asked, worry etched onto her face as she walked over to her friend. Momo was already up and running, however, and out the door in the blink of an eye. Moments later, she was back, gasping for breath, clutching her guitar case.

"It's ok!" she said breathlessly. "I almost forgot my guitar!"

Rangiku sighed and placed her head in her hand, Renji and Ichigo roared with laughter, Hisagi quietly chuckled and went back to unpacking, and Toshiro stared in disbelief.

_This is going to be an interesting tour_, he decided to himself.

* * *

Momo, how I love to put you in these situations! I hope you guys like the name of this chapter, because I know I do! XD

Oh my gosh, so many people reviewed last chapter! Thanks for reviewing **HEDGEHOGZ, AznVKai, kRyStAlt3aRz, RiixHitsuHina, Lord Slayer, Momo – Toshiro, Moonlight-Milkyway, JoaNyMar12, and deardesolate!**

Chapter 4, coming soon to a fanfiction near you! Thanks for reading, and please review!


	4. Up All Night

Momo looked around the tour bus sleepily. Smiling, she picked out the shapes of her band mates and friends in the gloom. Rangiku had insisted on a party in celebration of starting the tour. Most everyone was now dead asleep.

From where she sat in her bunk, Momo could spot Rangiku, Hisagi, and Renji, sprawled around the lounge, various bottles of alcohol littered around them. Ichigo was conked out in the kitchenette, face planted into a slice of chocolate cake. And that just left Toshiro… where was he?

She peered around the bus, trying to figure out where he could be. Shrugging, she figured he must be in the bathroom or something.

_Although, now that I think about it, I didn't see him partying with the others…_ she mused. _Oh well, Hakunamata._

Momo pulled her notebook out from the nook in the wall over her bed. It was a faded old thing, with a light purple cover printed with a blossoming tree on the front. Momo loved it dearly. It had been a gift from Renji and Kira, when they had first formed the band. In it, she wrote all song ideas, as well as just writing and drawing in general. Though she would never admit it, Momo was actually a pretty good writer and artist. The notebook was evidence of this.

She opened it up to the most recent page. It was a new song she had thought up the other night. She liked where it was going, but there was something missing, although Momo couldn't quite place her finger on it. She frowned at the song unhappily.

"Why are you being so difficult?" she asked it softly, staring at the page for a moment longer before turning back a page. Now here was a song that knew what it was doing. Momo hummed the tune under her breath.

_Look at this photograph_

_Every time I do it makes me laugh…_

_I just have to work out the music portion and this one will be all set! _Momo thought happily. For a moment, she wavered between thinking up more songs or going to bed. Glancing at the clock on the wall opposite her bunk, Momo made up her mind.

_1 o'clock is still too early… I'll just go on my laptop really fast, then to bed._ Momo decided, putting her notebook away and taking out her laptop instead. It turned on and the background of a picture of the band at their first concert met her eyes.

_I'll have to take a new one._ she though sadly, looking at Kira's smiling face. It was one of the few times the boy didn't look completely miserable. She missed him so much… a lot more than she had thought. They had helped each other, her, Kira, and Renji, in a really hard time in their lives. They had managed to not only make it, but even thrive after such a difficult point. They had made a promise to each other, to always be there for each other.

_But that was before Kira got accepted into that school._ Momo though unhappily. She didn't hold it against him; quote contraire, she was actually happy for him. She just couldn't help but feel dejected about Kira leaving them.

_I'll get over it._ She determinedly clicked on the internet browser icon, leaving bittersweet memories behind in favor of the band's website. Momo logged onto the blog section of the site, and began considering what to tell the fans. Hesitantly, she began typing:

* * *

_Hey everybody! Momo Hinamori here, wherever on the road to we happen to be at the moment! It looks like I'm the only one up… Ran, Hisagi, and Renji are all passed out, Ichigo is sleeping in some cake (I'll post a pic in a second, its hilarious!), and I have no clue where Toshiro went off to._

_Anyway, the tour's finally begun! First stop is in two days, and I know you're all just as excited as we are! Well, I am… the others aren't really in the position to be excited at the moment, if you catch my drift._

_It seems like we've already slipped back into life on the road. I guess once you've done it before, it's easy to get back into again. I love traveling like this, it's great! I can't wait until we reach our stop. You guys are going to love this concert, I guarantee it._

_Speaking of concerts, some new songs may pop up here and there. Keep your ears open, they'll be when you least expect it!_

_Oh, and for those of you who listen to KY109, we'll be in their studio for a live performance and interview next Tuesday! There's a link to their website below, so if you don't get them on your radio, listen online!_

_Now to answer some of your questions on the newest member of the band, Toshiro Hitsugaya._

_LazeeDazee: We picked Toshiro based on his talent (which he has a lot of, trust me!), not because he's "totally hot."_

_Frankenmime: No, I am _not_ going out with him. I only met Toshiro a few days ago!_

_Taffyette: And, no, I will not post pics of him sleeping online. I think you should try asking Ran to do that, she's much more likely to do it than me._

_Well, I hope that cleared up some of your concerns! I'll post another entry right after the concert. Meanwhile, enjoy this pic of Ichigo sleeping in chocolate cake! Au revoir!_

* * *

Grabbing her camera, Momo slipped down the ladder and padded over to the front of the bus. She quickly snapped a shot of Ichigo, then scurried back to bed before he could wake up from the flash and guess what she had done.

Once Ichigo's face plastered in chocolate was safely on the site, Momo closed her laptop and yawned. Slipping under the covers, she turned off her overhead light and snuggled into her pillow.

Unknown to Momo, Toshiro was still awake in his own bunk, wondering what in the world she was thinking, doing up this late at night/early in the morning, depending on how you wanted to look at it.

_I'll figure her out,_ he decided as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

That was fun! My favorite part of this whole chapter was thinking up those names and answers for Momo's blog. XD

Anyone recognize the song lyrics? :3

Super special thanks to **AznVKai, JoaNyMar12 **(I know it was you!)**, deardesolate, kRyStAlt3aRz, blackwitchkarma, Moonlight-Milkyway, HEDGEHOGZ, Lord Slayer, Momo - Toshiro, and neokillerqc** for reviewing last chapter! Thank you!!

So next chapter. I don't think I'm going to go into too much detail about their first concert on tour. Maybe afterwards, but the concert itself… I'll do a chapter dedicated completely to a concert later, I promise! XD

Thanks for reading, and please review! I'm so happy so many of you like this story so far!


	5. About a Girl

The band left the stage with the crowd screaming. They were waving and laughing, giving each other high fives.

"Man that was awesome! Did you hear them on my solo? You'd think I had just saved the Queen of England!" Renji laughed. He was dressed in a black tee shirt and cargo pants, his usual attire. Ichigo, walking next to him, frown firmly in place, was clad in a purple shirt that read "Nice Vibe" in big white letters and black jeans.

"No they didn't. In fact, I'm pretty sure they only cheered like that cause I waved at them." He smirked, causing Renji to glare and attack him.

Hisagi, in graphic tee and ripped jeans, chuckled. Toshiro, wearing his typical tee and jeans, turned to Momo. She was the only one out of the ordinary; as soon as they had arrived, she had been dragged away by the staff. Ichigo explained that this was because, if left to her own devices, Momo would end up helping to set up the equipment and go out wearing whatever she had shown up in. So now, hours later, it amazed Toshiro to see her dressed in a mint green top, mini denim jacket over it, with a denim skirt and knee-high brown leather cowboy boots, instead of her usual uniform of ratty old jeans and oversized tees. Momo even had makeup on, an amazing feat as it took Rangiku at least an hour to convince her just to put some mascara on. But she was still the same old Momo, as she graced him with one of her warm smiles.

"That was fun, huh?" she asked him cheerfully. It was remarkable she was even talking, all the singing she had done. But not just singing. The girl had stamina, Toshiro would give her that. He was exhausted just from standing in one place, sometimes moving around, playing his guitar. Momo had been jumping and dancing around, singing her heart to the sea of cheering fans. But the biggest surprise of the whole ordeal was the fact she hadn't tripped, fallen, or crashed into someone or something the entire time.

An amazing feat for Momo.

"Yeah, that was great." Toshiro grinned.

"That was your first concert, right?" Hisagi asked. Over the past two days, the band had gotten closer as they shared the same living space. The other two boys, Hisagi and Renji, had visibly warmed to Toshiro, talking with him easily instead of the stiff conversation from when they had first met.

"Yeah."

"You did pretty good." Hisagi nodded sagely.

"You were great, Hitsugaya!" Momo exclaimed, playfully punching him in the arm. His skin tingled at the spot where her tiny fist had made contact.

"Thanks." He said, looking away so they couldn't see him blush. What was wrong with him?

"Ok, lemme go wash this junk off. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up in a sec." Momo called over her shoulder as she darted into the bathroom.

They headed back to the bus, joking and laughing. They were done for the night, their part of the show ending around 10 so the Death Gods could play. Waiting for them in the bus was one Rangiku with a collection of bottles of various alcoholic beverages. She had an evil smirk in place.

"Drink up boys! Where's Momo, we need to get her wasted! She's too goody-good for her own good!" Rangiku stated, peering around them as Hisagi and Renji dove for the alcohol. Toshiro frowned at this.

"Leave Momo alone, Matsumoto. She doesn't have to drink with you alcoholics if she doesn't want to." He retorted.

"Aww, aren't you a dear!" the busty woman cooed, pinching his cheek.

"C'mon, Ran! Chug!" Hisagi shouted, having already downed half a bottle of sake and waving another bottle enticingly in front of him.

"Coming!" Rangiku yelled, abandoning stretching Toshiro's cheeks for drinking up with Hisagi and Renji. Ichigo had long ago changed into sweats and climbed into his bunk. Toshiro followed his example, only instead situating himself on a chair across from his bunk with his guitar and the music book Momo had given him, as far away from the drinking party as possible.

* * *

Hours passed. Rangiku, Renji, and Hisagi had long ago passed out on the floor in the lounge. Ichigo had been sleeping since they had gotten back. Toshiro had just been planning on turning in himself, but was worried about Momo. She still wasn't back. He was beginning to wonder if he should go out and look for her when she creeped in, closing the door quietly behind her.

"And where have you been, young lady?" Toshiro asked in a mock serious voice. Momo jumped about a foot, spun around, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew, it's just you." She breathed, putting a hand over her heart.

Toshiro quirked an eyebrow. "Seriously, where were you?"

"Oh, well, the others are used to it, but I usually stay out till I'm sure they're passed out." Momo replied, nodding her head towards the snoring trio. "If I come in while they're up and drinking, Rangiku tries to make me join in."

"Oh." Toshiro frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. "I'll talk to her, you shouldn't be out this late all by yourself just because your worried she'll make you drunk."

"No, it's fine, I'm used to being out by myself." She reassured him with one of her smiles. She breezed past him, rummaging in one of her two drawers. He wasn't, however, going to be so easily deterred.

"I insist. You had me worried, Momo." He retorted. She looked up, startled, clutching a pair pajama bottoms covered in ducks.

"What?" he asked, puzzled by the expression on her face. She smiled at him again. This smile, however, was different from the others. It made his stomach flop and his knees go weak.

"You called me Momo!" she cheered.

And with that, she walked to the bathroom to get changed, Toshiro watching her every move, wondering what had just happened.

* * *

Aww! So kawaii! X3

They had their first concert! How exciting!

Let me see. They started the tour on Thursday. They had their first concert on Saturday. I think the next concert is going to be next Wednesday~! I like planning out their schedule, its fun! Now the question is, will Momo remember the…?

Probably not. I don't know why, but I love writing Momo as a klutz… it just fits her! And Shiro-chan's just plain clueless. Don't get me wrong, he's very intelligent and perspective, but when it comes to love, he's like a little kid (how appropiate!)

Anyway, thank you **neokillerqc, kRyStAlt3aRz, rolf-hitsugaya, AznVKai, bleachfanxxx, Momo – Toshiro, screamerXOXO, Lord Slayer, Moonlight-Milkyway, and JoaNyMar12** for the lovely reviews! Now, no updates until someone becomes my fukutaicho! :3

**w w w . t h e i n s a n e a r m y . p r o b o a r d s . c o m** (no spaces)

Just kidding, just kidding, I'm not that mean! XD Next update for this story should be up by… Thursday? I'll try, really, I will! Don't hurt me!! But please check it out, at the very least?

Until the next chapter!

P.s., if there's anyone interested in being my Beta Reader, please let me know! I need major help with this, it's my first multi-chapter and I'm so used to writing oneshots and silly little short chapters for _Hide and Go Seek!_ and _Tag!_ that I'm afraid I'm completly screwing this up. Plus doing a bad job in general T~T


	6. Good Morning Good Morning

Toshiro was up the next morning by 7; it was a habit that he couldn't seem to break, no matter how late he was up. The others usually slept in till around 9, leaving him to clean up whatever mess they had left behind from the day before. It was a routine they had established in the days since the tour had begun. Toshiro was the first one up at 7, followed closely by their bus driver, Kokichiro Takezoe, who would drink some coffee before starting the daily driving. Next up was Ichigo, who had a tendency to go to bed early anyway, followed by Hisagi, Renji, and Rangiku, who were usually up late messing around.

Hisagi would end up making breakfast, as he was the best cook on the bus, but on the rare occasion that he slept in late, it was Ichigo who did the cooking. Once everyone who was up was fed, they'd spend the rest of the morning helping Toshiro with the cleaning or whatever chores needed to be done, such as tuning the guitars or answering fan mail. (Toshiro soon discovered that they got a LOT of fan mail, even though they had only been on the road for less than a week now.)

Last one up, no matter what, was Momo. Now that Toshiro thought about it, he had never seen Momo fall asleep before; she always stayed up later than all of them. Momo wouldn't wake up till at least noon. When she did eventually wake up, she'd peer her head out of her bunk, adorably bleary-eyed, before shimming down the ladder and pouring herself a bowl of cereal. It never mattered what time of day it was; be it 12, 1, or even 2, she'd sit down and eat whatever cereal box was at the front of the cabinet. The second day on the road, as a joke, Renji had switched all the cereal in the boxes around, so that the Cheerios were in the Froot Loops box, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch was in the Raison Bran Crunch box, etc. Well, when Momo woke up and poured herself a bowl of what she thought was Lucky Charms, instead she got a bowl full of Cocoa Puffs. While everyone laughed, she merely blinked, then poured the milk in and began eating. Simple as that.

The rest of the day would continue with them hanging out on the bus. Usually Renji, Hisagi, and Ichigo would play video games, watch T.V., or play card games. Sometimes Toshiro and Momo would join in while Rangiku would usually nap, or read the truckload of magazines Momo had bought her. Mostly Toshiro would stare out the window or play his guitar. What Momo did changed day to day. Sometimes she'd do whatever the guys were doing, sometimes she'd sit and talk to Kokichiro while he drove the bus, but more often than not, she'd curl up in her bunk and write in her notebook. Toshiro frequently saw her with it in her lap, drawing or writing or whatever it was that she was doing with it. Toshiro never asked, and he never interrupted. He felt that if he did, he was intruding on something very important. The others appeared to feel the same way, as never once did Toshiro see any of them ask about it, or disrupt her while she was with it.

Evening came, and Hisagi would make dinner while Kokichiro pulled over onto the side of the road for the night. Their bus driver would then head out, going to who knows where, leaving the band alone together to hang out in the lounge, laughing and talking. As time would wear on, one by one they'd saunter off to bed, frequently leaving Toshiro alone with Momo. Toshiro would attempt to stay up as late as her, but he usually ended up dozing off. By the time he woke up, she was in her bunk. He knew she wasn't asleep because he could see the little light over her bed would be on through the curtain pulled back around her, but he was frequently too tired to say anything and would just end up passing out once his head hit the pillow.

And that was just an average day for the Soul Reapers.

Anyway, back to today. Toshiro, as usual, was up by 7. And, as usual, Kokichiro was up right after him. He made himself some coffee and began to drive. Toshiro began to pick up and throw away the bottles of sake and beer Hisagi, Renji, and Rangiku had left behind from last night's drink fest. Next came Ichigo, who gave a look at disgust at the trio snoring away on the floor before he got dressed in some jeans and a tee shirt that read "Just shut it" in blocky yellow letters on an orange background.

"Morning." Toshiro said.

Ichigo grunted a greeting before starting to help Toshiro pick up the leftover bottles. Toshiro had learned early on that most of his band mates were _not_ morning people.

Hisagi was up next. He looked around at them, blinked, and then ran to the bathroom. The sound of retching could be heard throughout the bus.

Renji was soon after, and he merely mumbled something about pain killers before crawling into his bunk and closing the curtain.

Hisagi came back out looking the worst for wear. He opened the fridge, stared at its contents for a minute, then closed it.

"Screw this, you guys can fend for yourselves. I'm going back to bed." He yawned, making like Renji and diving under the covers of his bed.

Ichigo met Toshiro's eyes. He sighed, then moodily went to the fridge and took out a carton of eggs.

"I can only do scrambled, so no complaining." He growled as he began to make breakfast.

The two ate in silence, save for the loud snores of the hungover trio. They passed Kokichiro a plate and began to clean up. Once done, Ichigo looked around.

"Might as well start answering the fan mail." He grumbled as he walked over to the giant duffel bag stuffed full of fans' mail and gifts to the band and its' members. Taking out a handful, he threw it on the table and picked one up.

"I didn't know people still wrote fanmail." Toshiro commented.

"Not as much. Usually they email and leave comments on our web pages and site." Ichigo told him. He soon had several different piles of letters for each band member, as well as one dedicated to the entire band. Ichigo slid Toshiro's pile (which was surprisingly big, considering how he was the new guy and all) across the table to him. He then picked up a letter off the top of his pile, opened it, and began to read. About 5 seconds in, he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Toshiro asked, having barely ripped the envelope of his first letter.

"This, read it." Ichigo smirked, handing him the letter. The envelope was covered in lipstick in multiple shades of red and pink. Toshiro quirked a brow, then began reading the letter inside.

_Dearest Darling Ichigo,_

_I wish you were a teacup_

_In which I take my tea_

_So every time I take a sip_

_It means a kiss from me_

That's as far as Toshiro could read before he started to snicker. "Wow, Ichigo, that's one girl you never want to let go!"

"How should I reply to that? 'Sorry, but I don't do tea?' How awkward is this?" Ichigo frowned, trying to find a solution to his dilemma. Sighing he set it aside. "I'll leave it for Momo, she always knows how to let them down without breaking their hearts."

"Cause she's a girl?" Toshiro asked, finally opening his letter.

"Naw, Momo's just really nice like that. She can't be mean, no matter how hard she tries." Ichigo's scowl deepened. "Which is why all fan mail addressed to her from guys is ours to handle."

"What?" Toshiro asked, looking up from his own sappy love letter to fix Ichigo with a questioning gaze.

"Momo's a sweet girl. She can't reply to her fan guys' mail in a mean way, even when they deserve it. So, me, Hisagi, and Renji write to the guys who write to Momo. They don't usually do it again once we're through with them, but she has had some stalkers in the past. It's troubling." Ichigo sighed, looking… worried?

"Hey, chill out. It can't be that big a deal." Toshiro said. However, he was a little troubled. Creepy guys and stalkers writing to Momo were something he wanted to handle personally. In fact, any guy who looked at Momo in anyway was going to answer to him, one way or another.

_Wait, what?_ Toshiro wondered, trying to sort through his thoughts. Finally, he reached a conclusion. _It's no big deal, you just feel protective of her like the other guys. She's like a little sister, that's all._

That still didn't seem right, but Ichigo was talking again and Toshiro wanted to hear what he had to say.

"You haven't read some of these things she gets. Like this one." Ichigo handed Toshiro a plain white envelope with Momo's name in elegant cursive on the front. "That's a regular."

Toshiro opened the letter expecting the worst.

_Momo,_

_We were made for each other in every shape and form. Whenever I see you, my heart stops. Whenever I hear you, my jaw drops. I will always love you. I think we were meant to be together forever._

Toshiro couldn't take anymore. He looked up at Ichigo in disgust. "And she gets letters like this all the time?"

Ichigo nodded. "And she hasn't seen a single one." He smirked.

"Then let's keep it that way."

"Toshiro? Ichigo?" A quiet voice called from behind them. The object of their conversation was currently looking at them with sleep filled eyes. Momo's hair was pulled into a low ponytail that hung over her shoulder. A XL shirt adorned with an extremely happy daisy draped over her shoulders, and her duck covered pants scraped the floor of the bus.

"Morning Momo." Ichigo said pleasantly.

"Hey, Momo." Toshiro said a beat behind him, giving the sleepy girl a small smile. She smiled in return. Toshiro noted it was nothing like the one from last night.

"I thought I heard your voices." She said. She turned away from them to get her regular box of cereal down. While her back was turned to them, Ichigo snatched the freaky letter out of Toshiro's hands, along with a pile of other letters which Toshiro could only assume were from more "fans", and slipped them under his seat. Once he was sure no one could tell what he was sitting on, Ichigo gave Toshiro a knowing grin.

"Reading fan mail, huh?" Momo asked, sliding in next to Ichigo in the booth around the table, bowl of Captain Crunch in hand, peering at the letter he had opened and was in the process of reading.

"Yeah. Want yours?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure." Momo replied cheerfully.

Ichigo handed Momo her stack of letters. Even without the creepy stalker letters, Momo's pile was slightly larger than all of theirs. Renji's came awful close though.

"By the way, I need you to reply to another one of those sappy poems. They're getting more frequent." Ichigo said with a frown.

Momo gave him a gentle smile. "I think they're sweet."

"They're weird, that's what they are." Ichigo mumbled under his breath.

"Aww, Ichi, don't be cruel." Momo playfully chided him, nudging him with her elbow. In turn, Ichigo patted Momo on the head, pushing her hair into her face.

"Ugh, Ichigo!!" she cried, swatting his hand away and brushing her hair back in place.

"Wha's goin on?" A slurred and tired voice came from the lounge. They turned to find Rangiku, upside down on the couch, staring past them as if in another world.

"Morning Ran!" Momo greeted her.

Rangiku glared at her. "Momo, not this morning. It's too early."

"It's almost noon." Momo pointed out pleasantly.

"No way!" Rangiku cried, jumping off the couch. "This just sucks! I'm going to bed."

And with that, the busty woman collapsed into her bunk, and within minutes, snores could be heard.

"She never changes." Ichigo sighed, continuing reading his letters.

"That's Ran for you." Momo agreed.

"Is she an alcoholic or something? She always seems to be drinking." Toshiro commented.

Wrong thing to say. Momo looked up at him with a sad, troubled look in her eyes while Ichigo scowled.

"What'd I say?" Toshiro asked, now thoroughly confused. It was the truth!

"Ran's… been through a lot." Momo began. She looked up at Ichigo, as if unsure whether to continue or not. Ichigo nodded.

"If anyone should tell him, it should be you. You're her best friend, Momo." Ichigo told her.

"Ok then." Momo turned back to Toshiro and sighed before continuing. "You see, Rangiku… she was abandoned on the streets when she was a little girl. She has no memory of her life before; just waking up cold and alone. Thankfully, she was rescued by a boy named Gin. But, one day, he disappeared too. She hasn't seen him since. To drown out her memories, she drinks. It's how she keeps her happy personality. It's how she deals with her pain. It's just how she is. So please Toshiro, don't judge Ran."

Toshiro stared down at his hands in his lap. He hadn't realized… if he had known, he would have never said anything. But then, replaying the conversation back in his head, something struck him. He smiled for a moment, knowing his two bandmates sitting opposite him wouldn't be able to see it. Once he had his face muscles back in control, Toshiro met Momo's eye.

"Of course I won't. I'm sorry I said anything." Toshiro said. He was pleased by the relief that flashed through Momo's eyes. There was something else, though, that made him even happier, though he'd never admit it.

She had called him Toshiro.

* * *

D'aww! I'm trying to take it slow between them, in case you can't tell. But still, it's like constantly being hinted they like each other. Sorry about that! XD

How do you guys like the story so far? Everything okies?

Special thanks to **Momo – Toshiro, AznVKai, screamerXOXO, Moonlight-Milkyway, lamekirby, neokillerqc, kRyStalt3aRz, rolf-hitsugaya, JoaNyMar12, lil' katie, and Lord Slayer** for reviewing last chapter! I appreciate your kindness so much!!

Now, next chapter. It'll be a continuation of this chapter, cause I'm too exhausted to keep going with this chapter. Sorry about that! And soon, very very soon, I'm going to introduce another person into their group. Not a band member, mind you, more a groupie. And it's going to be totally epic how they join! I just know your all going to love it! X3

Until next chapter! ~~~


	7. That's Not My Name

As Momo munched on her breakfast, she glanced in between her two friends. Ichigo looked like he was trying to stop himself from cracking up with laughter, while Toshiro had a look of pain on his face as he read his fan mail.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned, watching him from across the table as Toshiro looked up at her over his letter. His face was as passive as ever; if it had been anyone else, Momo probably would have blushed and pretended to have never asked it. Instead, she was able to read the surprise in his eyes and the slight crease in his brows as he concentrated on her and her alone.

"Why?"

"You look like something hurts. Is everything alright?"

"Oh. Yeah, just... peachy." He said, grimacing as he returned to reading.

Momo shrugged. She wasn't going to push it. Getting up from the table, she took her dish to the sink and cleaned it up before putting it back in the cupboard. Looking into the sink, she made a face at the clutter of dishes. Living on a bus with a bunch of guys and one lazy woman certainly left a lot to be desired in the hygiene department, although Toshiro did pull his weight when it came to cleaning up after their band mates. She let out a soft sigh and began washing the other dishes.

"Momo, don't do that. Let Ran do it, she needs something to do other than nap all day." Ichigo told her from where he sat, an amused grin in place.

"Ichigo, do you _really_ think Rangiku Matsumoto will ever clean up anything, ever?" Momo asked teasingly.

"She cleaned up half of that chocolate cake the other night all by herself just fine." Toshiro mumbled under his breath, causing Ichigo to let out a snort that would have put bulls to shame.

Momo smiled to herself as she returned to dish-washing, thinking about that chocolate cake from a few nights ago and a certain strawberry who had fallen asleep in his slice.

Suddenly, a head of tangled blonde hair popped out from Rangiku's bunk. She stared at them for a minute, not saying a word. When she finally did speak, it was in a voice cracked from one swig of alcohol too many.

"What're you guys doing on the plane for Holland?"

The trio watched Rangiku for a moment, digesting her question, unsure of whether or not she was serious or joking around with them.

"Uh… Ran… this isn't a plane. This is the tour bus. Remember?" Momo spoke up first, worry etched into her tone.

"Wha? No, no, this won't do, I told security not to let you on board…" Ran mumbled. She got out of bed and staggered into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. She reemerged several minutes later, hair brushed and make up in place on her already beautiful face. Rangiku had a frown firmly in place and a hand pressed to her temples.

"What a killer headache. How much did I drink last night? Thank God for pain meds." She said, plopping down next to Toshiro a little too closely, slouching over the table with her head in her arms. Toshiro uncomfortably scooted away from the hung over woman before he answered.

"I can't say for sure, but between you, Renji, and Hisagi, I'd say you guys managed to drink about 30 bottles of beer."

"And sake! Never forget the sake!" Ran reminded, peering up at him reproachfully.

"And sake." Toshiro agreed, scooting even farther away from her.

Rangiku sighed and got up from the table dizzily. Moaning, she grabbed an ice pack and a left over bowl of spaghetti from the fridge. Sitting down again, she placed the ice pack on her forehead and began to simultaneously stuff the spaghetti into her mouth… no fork. Ichigo made a face but didn't say anything. Momo giggled behind her hand, while Toshiro scowled and opened his mouth to say something before Rangiku held up a hand to stop him.

"Yes?" Toshiro asked irritably, staring at the woman around the hand placed smack in the middle of his face. Ran swallowed and stared at Toshiro with her piercing gray-blue eyes, as if looking right through him.

"What?" Toshiro asked, this time a little unnerved. He was glad it didn't show in his voice.

"I've decided." Rangiku stated in a monotone voice.

"Decided what?" Toshiro was now starting to get peeved. Why hadn't she just spit it out already?

"I'm going to call you captain from now on." She replied, an impish grin spreading across her face, Cheshire Cat style. Toshiro quirked an eyebrow.

"Captain. Why?"

"Cause you are captain, that's why." Ran said, nodding her had sagely.

Ichigo burst out laughing at the stunned expression on Toshiro's face. Momo smiled too; the white-haired guitarist was obviously still unused to Rangiku's hangover tendencies, which often involved crazy statements like this one. She paused in her dish-washing, thinking.

"Hmm... then I'm going to call Toshiro 'Shiro-chan!'" Momo decided out loud, turning to smile at Toshiro. The look of bewilderment gave way to one of horror.

"What?! No way, you are not calling me Shiro-chan!"

"Aww, but I like it! It fits you, Shiro-chan!"

"Shiro-chan? What's that supposed to mean?" Rangiku asked, mystified.

"Shiro-chan pretty much translates to 'Snowy' in Japanese." Ichigo replied, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes as he continued to laugh.

"Well then, I guess I have to think of a nickname for you." Toshiro told Momo, a hint of laughter in his eyes now.

"Do your worst." Momo challenged him, confident he couldn't possibly think of anything _that_ bad.

"Fine then, how about... Bed-wetter Momo?" he questioned, a smirk of triumph overcoming his features as Momo sloshed the dishwater a little bit too much.

"W-what?! Are you serious, Bed-wetter?!" she asked him, eyes wide in shock as she turned to look at him.

"That's right. Your nickname is Bed-wetter until you can stop calling me Shiro-chan." Toshiro promised, grin still in place as he watched her face flush with embarrassment.

"You, you... gah!" Momo exclaimed, abandoning dish duty in favor of plopping on the space of couch unoccupied by video games and magazines to distract herself with some T.V.

Toshiro, seeing his chance to tease her some more, sauntered over as well, sitting down next to Momo. They were soon arguing loud enough to wake up Hisagi, who lurched over to the kitchen to sit next to Ichigo at the table.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, staring back at the duo.

"Momo and Toshiro have nicknames for each other now." Ichigo replied as he chuckled darkly.

"The first sign of love – naming each other ridiculous nicknames that have no relevant background to the person involved." Rangiku chirped, slurping a noodle of spaghetti into her mouth. The two guys stared at her before one of them was able to find his voice again.

"I really don't get you sometimes, Ran." Hisagi muttered as he got up and made his way to the extremely popular bathroom in recent times.

* * *

I'm SO sorry for not updating in so long! Really, I am!

If it makes you feel any better though, I've actually got this story planned out to chapter 25. That's right, 25! Plus, I have a special bonus chapter for Halloween, which I'm going to put out come the 31st, so that should be something to look forward to... I hope! XD

So, big thanks to **neokillerqc, kRyStAlt3aRz, rolf-hitsugaya, AznVKai, screamerXOXO, Moonlight-Milkyway, lil' katie, Lord Slayer, and Momo – Toshiro **for reviewing last chapter! I appreciate it so much!

For those of you also following my other story, _Tag!_, expect that to be updated soon!

Well, I hope that wasn't a total disappointment! Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. Poker Face

It was another day for the Soul Reapers… Renji and Ichigo were trying to kill each other… Hisagi was messing around on his laptop… Rangiku was sleeping on the couch under a fashion magazine… Toshiro and Momo were playing Tic-Tac-Toe on the back of one of the fans' envelopes… Yes, just another day…

Until it all took quite the turn.

It began when Momo happened to glance at the date. And realize what today was. And go into panic mode.

"Oh my gosh, Kokichiro, where are we?" She asked the bus driver, her voice full of dread.

"Uh… we're coming up on Exit 67 now, why?" The man questioned Momo.

"Take it, quick!" Momo shouted, hopping up next to the man to stare out the window. She then quickly turned and ran to one of her drawers. Ripping it open, she grabbed some clothes and made a dash for the bathroom. Halfway there, she tripped and fell face first into the floor. The others, who had been watching the scene play out from where they sat, bewildered, now jumped up in concern.

"Are you okay, Momo?" Toshiro asked, reaching her first. She was already up and running, however, leaving Toshiro feeling even more confused than before.

"No! I completely forgot, today is the KY109 interview! And we're supposed to be there in…" she glanced at the clock, "about twenty minutes!"

Everyone merely exchanged amused looks. Momo noticed.

"I'm serious you guys!" She wailed, running into the bathroom, clothes in hand.

"Okay, okay." Ichigo yawned, returning to the couch. "Alright, who's playing? It's going to be acoustic, these stations love that sort of thing. Wanna do rock-paper-scissors?"

"Thank God I'm the drummer." Renji snickered, lying back on a pillow.

"Sure, rock-paper it is." Hisagi agreed, walking over to Ichigo, Toshiro close behind.

"We decide who plays in live performances by playing a game?" Toshiro asked.

"Yup. It's worked so far. Okay, ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Ichigo yelled, his hand forming a fist to represent rock. Hisagi had chosen scissors, and had his hand quickly knocked away by Ichigo. That left Toshiro, who had…

"Paper." Toshiro smirked, turning away from his fellow band members to get his guitar from his bunk.

"I never did get that. Why does paper beat rock?" Renji wondered.

"Cause paper is used for the written word, and the written word can move mountains." Hisagi stated, returning to his laptop.

"… Or the rock suffocates from lack of air thanks to the paper covering it." Ichigo suggested, causing Renji to guffaw and Hisagi to mutter something under his breath.

Momo burst back into the room, dressed in a cerulean tee shirt with "meh." written in blocky white letters in the front and baggy blue jeans. A big contrast to the holey shirt and sweatpants she had been bumming around the bus in.

"Did we figure out whose playing?" She asked, quickly flipping her hair into a bun covered by a light blue cloth.

"Yeah, Toshiro is." Ichigo responded, watching interestedly as Momo began hopping around, putting her shoes on while blowing her bangs out of her face.

"Cool! Okay, here's the music…" Momo proceeded to dive into her bunk, extracting a couple of pages that looked like they had been ripped out of a notebook and handing them to Toshiro, who studied them with raised eyebrows.

"You want me to learn a new song in twenty minutes?" He asked.

"Actually, it's less than ten at this point." Hisagi calmly pointed out, closing his laptop and walking over to Rangiku to wake her up.

"Please?" _Damn, there she goes again,_ Toshiro thought angrily as Momo turned her hopeful eyes up to him through her lashes. It wasn't that he was mad at Momo; he seriously doubted he ever could. No, he was mad at himself for feeling so… powerless when she looked at him like that. Like he was going to save the world instead of playing a song for some radio station interview.

"Tch, fine. I'll do it." He grumbled. Momo seemed to sense it was all an act, because she shot him with one of those smiles; the one that made his hearts stutter for a second before going into warp speed.

_What is wrong with me? Nerves?_ Toshiro scoffed at himself as he sat down to learn the song. Reading through it, he instantly took a liking to the melody. He soon had the sheets of music memorized. Now all he had to do was wait…

Within the next ten minutes, the bus was parked outside the station and the band was inside the building's front room, complete with a few comfy couches and chairs scattered around. Rangiku grumbled unhappily about being woken up for something like this. Toshiro was just glad they had arrived with no warning, so fans didn't have the chance to mob them when it was time to leave again. The receptionist smiled from behind her desk as they walked in.

"Hello, welcome to KY109. Is there anything I can get you before you go in?" She asked politely.

"Just some water, I think." Hisagi told her, looking around at the others for confirmation.

"Okay, I'll bring it in just a minute. Go on in, they're waiting for you." She waved them through, getting up from her desk to leave through a door behind her desk.

"I'll wait out here for you guys!" Rangiku exclaimed cheerfully as she collapsed onto the nearest couch, pulling a magazine from the nearby coffee table to begin reading.

They entered into a hallway, and followed it to the door marked for the Johnny the Jackass Show, where they were scheduled to be in just five minutes. Upon entering they found the show already in progress. It was on commercial, though, as the show's hosts were casually talking amongst each other as workers rapidly shot commands on their computers and took calls from listeners.

"Well well well, it's the Soul Reapers! We though you guys weren't going to show!" Johnny called from in front of his console, a simple grin on his face. The other two, Mike and Lynette, greeted the band warmly as they took their seats in front of the guests' microphones.

"Yeah… _someone_ forgot we were supposed to be here today and only remembered twenty minutes ago!" Ichigo laughed as he put his earmuff headphones on, the others following his example.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could have been…?" Mike pondered, glancing at Momo out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, don't just assume stuff!" Momo protested, throwing Ichigo a mock dirty look.

"We're on the air in five!" One of the technicians shouted from his computer, a countdown ticking off on the screen of his monitor. The friendly receptionist walked in and handed out the bottled water and quickly left again as the show began.

"Aaand welcome back! Here with us today is the one, the only, the stupendous, the amazing…" Johnny went on, a smile in his voice as he listed adjectives off the top of his head.

"Would you get on with it already?" Ichigo asked teasingly.

"Theeeeeee Soul Reapers!" Johnny shouted, clapping his hands as everyone in the room joined in. The band said hello for the listener's benefit.

"So, let's jump right into it. Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" Johnny asked, a serious expression on his features.

"It was him." Ichigo and Renji replied simultaneously, pointing at one another. Everyone laughed as the two turned to glare at each other.

"Okay, okay, all kidding aside, it's great to have you on the show! Thanks for remembering us here at KY109!" Johnny smirked, throwing a wink Momo's way that caused her to blush in embarrassment.

"Johnny, be nice!" Lynette laughed, elbowing the man in the ribs.

"Psh, like he ever could be!" Renji said, shooting Johnny a condescending look.

"Gosh, no love for Johnny today." Johnny pouted, his brow furrowing. "I give up, let's get down to the interview."

"Wait, we're here for an interview?" Hisagi asked mockingly, a look of disbelief on his face as his bandmates laughed.

"Haha, very funny." Johnny smiled cheerfully. "First question: How's life on the road so far?"

"It's been a lot of fun. It's funny how we just got right back into the swing of it almost instantly." Momo replied, an easy smile on her face. Toshiro couldn't help but note, however, it wasn't one of her usual smiles, the kind she reserved for her friends and bandmates. No, this one seemed… distant. Fake. Not the Momo he knew.

"What do you guys do to keep yourselves from killing each other?" Mike asked the second question.

"Me, Renji, and Hisagi play video games all the time. Guitar Hero, Halo 3, etc." Ichigo answered.

"I mostly just mess around on my laptop." Hisagi cut in.

"Yeah, you're pretty reclusive." Renji snickered.

"Wanna know who's reclusive? Toshiro's reclusive!" Hisagi retorted, giving Toshiro a grin that said he wasn't serious.

"Speaking of Toshiro, where did you find the guy?" Johnny asked, obvious curiosity lacing his voice.

"Yeah, he's really talented!" Lynette chimed in.

"Well, you see, it's really not that complicated. First, we bought a space rocket, and-" Ichigo was cut off by Renji's elbow in his gut.

"Hello? We took a submarine to the Marianas Trench and found him living amongst the merpeople in Atlantis, duh! Your thinking of Hisagi, stupid strawberry."

"Pssh, whatever!" Ichigo retorted, knocking Renji's hand away as Renji tried to give him a noogie.

"Okay, one last question from us before we take some from our callers. This one's for Momo. Momo," Johnny turned to Momo, a teasing gleam in his eyes. "Are you, or are you not, currently in a relationship with one of your bandmates?"

The question had an immediate effect. Momo's face turned scarlet. However, her eyes remained cool and her voice had an undetectable tremor that only her closest friends could have picked up on.

"Of course I'm not Johnny! What makes you ask that?" She tactfully turned the interview on him. Toshiro was fascinated; he had never seen this side of Momo before.

"Cause you're surrounded by hot guys all day long! You have to be attracted to one of them!" Lynette winked, her eyes shining.

"Everyone in the band is practically my best friend!" Momo replied easily and naturally, her blush now under control.

"If you say so. Okay, let's take this call from Pam on line 1. Pam?" Johnny asked, flipping a switch on his console.

"Hey Johnny, Momo, everyone! I love your music, you guys rock!" Pam gushed over the phone. "I have a question for Momo: What's it like traveling in a bus full of guys?"

"It's not like I'm the only girl on the bus. Our manager, Rangiku, is traveling with us as well. I guess I'd say you definitely have to have enough energy to keep up with them, it can be exhausting sometimes!" Momo told Pam, a genuine smile crossing her lips for the first time since entering the radio station.

"Thanks for the Q, Pam! Let's see… here's Amy on Line 4. Amy, what' up?!"

"OMGEEE! You guys are SO awesome! I have to ask, what happened to Kira? I love him and miss him SO much!" Amy whined, her voice crackling a bit.

"Kira left the band to go to a prestigious university he got accepted into. We're all really happy for him and he still keeps in touch with us from time to time." This time, Momo's voice had an undercurrent of sadness that Toshiro was able to detect. It made him wonder about her relationship with this Kira person.

_What? Why do I care? Focus, Toshiro. _He commanded himself, trying to leave his thoughts to concentrate on the next fan.

"Hey, it's Ian. Just wondering, what's up with the pic of Ichigo faceplanted in a piece of chocolate cake I've been seeing all over the internet?"

Ichigo looked up sharply, his eyes wide. "What??"

"Oops, looks like someone hasn't been keeping up with his fan sites!" Mike snickered.

"Hehe, about that…" Momo chuckled, leaning around Toshiro to give Ichigo an apologetic smile.

"What, Momo?! Why?! I thought we were friends!" Ichigo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, look at the time! Let's do that live performance, shall we?" Momo said quickly, getting up and darting her way into the sound booth.

"Well folks, stay tuned for the Soul Reaper's live performance, with Momo Hinamori singing and Toshiro Hitsugaya playing the acoustic guitar right after these commercials!" Johnny laughed, switching the broadcast over to the other workers to take care of.

Toshiro got up and stretched as the others got up.

"You're pretty quite, huh?" Lynette asked him.

Toshiro shrugged. "I just have nothing to say." He replied simply as he followed Momo into the sound booth with his guitar. He found her already seated in front of a microphone, adjusting the headphones to sit on her head more comfortably. He sat on the stool next to her, lowering the mic for him down to his level in order to be heard easily.

"Nervous?" Her gentle voice questioned. He turned to find Momo watching him.

"Not at all. You?"

"Ha… did you know I have stage fright?" She blurted out suddenly, hiding her face from him with her bangs.

Toshiro felt his eyebrows rise involuntarily. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm fine though, so long I have someone up there with me." She looked up at him then, her eyes soft. "I'm glad you're here with me, Shiro-chan."

He paused for a moment before answering. "Don't call me that, Bed-wetter." He grumbled.

Momo threw him a smile before Johnny's voice could be heard over the speaker.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, I present to you, Momo Hinamori and Toshiro Hitsugaya of the Soul Reapers performing their new song, 'Photograph'!"

A green light went on at the front of the booth. Toshiro let out a breath before starting to play the opening. Momo paused for a moment before she began to sing.

_Look at this photograph  
Every time I do it makes me laugh  
How did our eyes get so red?  
And what is that thing on Renji's head?_

_And this is where I grew up  
I think the present owner fixed it up  
I never knew we'd ever went without  
The second floor is hard for sneaking out_

_And this is where I went to school  
Most of the time wanted better things to do  
Criminal record says Ichigo's broke in twice  
He must have done it half a dozen times_

_I wonder if it's too late  
Should I go back and try to make amends?  
Life's better now than it was back then  
If I was them I wouldn't let me in_

_Oh oh oh  
Oh man I_

_Every memory of looking out the back door  
I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor  
It's hard to say it, time to say it  
Goodbye, goodbye_

_Every memory of walking out the front door  
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for  
It's hard to say it, time to say it  
Goodbye, goodbye  
Goodbye_

_Remember the old arcade?  
Blew every dollar that we ever made  
The cops hated us hanging out  
They said somebody went and burned it down_

_We used to listen to the radio  
And sing along with every song we know  
We said someday we'd find out how if feels  
To sing to more than just the steering wheel_

_When was the last time we ate at that place?_

_Remember, the one with all the lace?  
Apparently it got sold_

_Something about tons of mold_

_Oh oh oh  
Oh man I_

_Every memory of looking out the back door  
I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor  
It's hard to say it, time to say it  
Goodbye, goodbye_

_Every memory of walking out the front door  
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for  
It's hard to say it, time to say it  
Goodbye, goodbye_

_I miss that town  
I miss their faces  
You can't erase  
You can't replace it_

_I miss it now  
I can't believe it  
So hard to stay  
Too hard to leave it_

_If I could I relive those days  
I know the one thing that would never change_

_Every memory of looking out the back door  
I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor  
It's hard to say it, time to say it  
Goodbye, goodbye_

_Every memory of walking out the front door  
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for  
It's hard to say it, time to say it  
Goodbye, goodbye_

_Look at this photograph  
Every time I do it makes me laugh  
Every time I do it makes me…_

The song ended, and time seemed to stop. Momo, her breathing slightly hard, glanced over to Toshiro. Her eyes sparked with delight, and then she smiled that smile. The one that made Toshiro want to smile in return.

_Two in one day._ He mused, as he waited for his heart to restart. It was then that he decided, right then and there, that he would do anything to protect that smile.

* * *

Woo, this one was a long chapter! XD (for me, at least)

Gah, so many reviews last chapter! Thank you SO SO SO much (to quote Amy) **AznVKai, KnowledgeandImagination, deardesolate, rolf-hitsugaya, Ophianara Blade, Momo – Toshiro, AnimeLuver4everandevr, HalfJillHalfJack, lil' katie, kRyStAlt3aRz, neokillerqc, screamerXOXO, Moonlight-Milkyway, Lord Slayer, Stacy0107, and nexuswarrior **for reviewing!

Look out for a new story from me sometime Sunday. I think it'll be pretty good, but let's see what you guys think before I go tooting my own horn…

Haha, so sleepy. Until next chapter, faithful readers… thanks for reading, and please review~


	9. I Won't Say I'm in Love

Momo hopped around the kitchenette lightly, making as little noise as possible. It was late at night, and once again Momo was the only one up. She quickly finished making her sandwich before tip-toeing to her bunk, soundlessly climbing up the ladder to settle into the covers of her bed.

_Grilled cheese is the greatest thing ever invented by man._ Momo decided happily as she took a bite out of her midnight snack. She was soon done, and proceeded to pull her laptop into her lap and boot it up.

Logging onto her blog, Momo began to type away…

* * *

_Heyo! It's Momo Hinamori for another blog update!_

_Let's see, I think I'm going to talk about everyone on tour with us this time. Here goes!_

_Renji Abarai: Drummer. He's most like a monkey. He's full of energy and has an opinion for everything. Competitive, restless, and funny, Renji always has his friends' backs. He's the only one in the band other than me from the original Soul Reapers. Not only is he an amazing drummer, he can also play the piano and trumpet!_

_Ichigo Kurosaki: Bass Guitarist. He's like a tiger. They're both fierce and bold, but gentle and protective of their friends and family. Plus, they both have orange hair! Ichigo was a friend of Renji's when he was invited to join the band. They both had a mutual friend named Rukia, and it's only thanks to her that they're friend now, rather than enemies like they used to be._

_Shuuhei Hisagi: Rhythm Guitarist. Hmm… I'd say he's like an ox. He's patient, hardworking, and reliable. I think of everyone on the bus at the moment, Hisagi's most like the father; he keeps us in line and looks out to make sure we don't get hurt. He was also a friend of Ichigo's, Renji's, and mine before he joined the band. He's always liked music, and practices his guitar all the time. At first, he was so bad, he had to leave town and play in the mountains. And now look where he is!_

_Rangiku Matsumoto: Manager. A cat, for sure. She can be lazy and carefree, but under that exterior is an intelligent person who knows what she's doing._

It was at that moment that Rangiku chose to let out a loud snore from the bunk below Momo's.

… _Where was I? Oh, yes… Ran's very independent-minded. You don't get in her way when she wants something, that's for sure! She also has an incredibly high alcohol resistance._

_Toshiro Hitsugaya: Lead Guitarist. The new guy in our little family. Toshiro most reminds me of a rattlesnake, small but deadly. He's fast and extremely smart and talented… a child genius or something. He's one of those guys who could be whatever he wants if he put his mind to it. But he's not a snob about it; in fact, he's very gracious and kind. You just have to see past that rough shell. How someone this good ended up in our band, I'll never know. Ichigo and Toshiro were friends before Toshiro joined the band; apparently they played soccer together._

_That's about it... I mean, we have our bus driver, Kokichiro Takezoe… he's a very shy, quiet man. Not much for words, but he's very nice._

_I can't believe it's only been a week since the debut of Photograph! It's already a number one hit, and it's being nominated for a bunch of awards! It's kind of embarrassing, but I'm happy so many people seem to like it so much!_

_I'd love to make a music video for Photograph, but since we're on tour, we're already pressed for time as it is. Plus, we're scheduled to shoot another music video for Fireflies. But who knows, maybe we'll make time to do it, right?_

_Okay, time for Q'n'A with Momo! Here we go!_

_MuseofMusic: Where do you get the inspirations for your songs?_

_Everywhere! I find inspiration in everything, but mostly my friends and my memories are the basis for a lot of the songs I write._

_Shopaholic: When do you get to go shopping?_

_I don't go shopping; I don't really like it. Ran goes shopping all the time though. Pretty much whenever we're stopped for more than an hour, she's at the nearest mall._

_Cupid: Were you serious about not having a romantic relationship with anyone in the band?_

_Yes, I was serious. Is it really that hard to believe??_

_Now that that's taken care of, it's about time I get some shut eye. Night everyone, until next time!_

* * *

Once her blog was updated, Momo closed the lid of her laptop and flopped back into her pillow, waiting for sleep to come.

* * *

So sorry! Another short one. I promise next one's definitely going to be longer!

Thanks **rolf-hitsugaya, KnowledgeandImagination, xIxLikexMusicx, Momo – Toshiro, neokillerqc, Moonlight-Milkyway, doubt and trust, Ophianara Blade, HalfJillHalfJack, AznVKai, nexuswarrior, JoaNyMar12, lil' katie, screamerXOXO, MoonLightView, kRyStAlt3aRz, and Lord Slayer** for all your kind reviews, they mean so much to me!

Since next chapter's going to be double digits, something special's going to happen! I won't say what, but I'm positive you guys are going to love it!

Now, time for me to get some sleep! XD Good night, and thank you for reading, and please review! Until next chappy, my friends~


	10. Bad Reputation

Momo and Toshiro were quietly talking to each other in the lounge after another concert. It was late, and most everyone else had collapsed from exhaustion. The two band mates, however, had managed to stubbornly fight off sleep to discuss the finer things in life.

"I'm telling you, you're never going to have a mosh pit at one of your concerts with the songs you write." Toshiro was explaining to Momo.

"Why would I want a mosh pit? Those things are scary!" Momo declared, taking a sip of hot chocolate from her Hello Kitty mug.

"They're scary to you cause you're a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that of course mosh pits scare you, you're a girl, and a nice one at that."

"… You think I'm nice?"

_Oh, fuck._ Toshiro thought, face growing hot. To buy some time, he looked back at his other band mates while taking a swig of water. For the first (and probably last) time, Toshiro wished that they were awake to make some loud, obnoxious noise to drown out this awkward silence.

Toshiro turned back to Momo to find her staring at him curiously. _Just start talking, _he told himself.

"Well, yeah. You're really nice, you probably wouldn't like to see anyone get hurt." Toshiro explained, avoiding her inquiring eyes.

"Yeah, your right. I hate to see anyone in pain." She finally answered, her eyes suddenly filling with a sadness that made Toshiro want to hug her and tell her it would all be okay.

"Oi what's with the sad face?" he asked instead, thoroughly ruining any desire to hug Momo. _What a random feeling,_ he decided, focusing back on the singer.

"What sad face? I'm perfectly happy!" she smiled, but the smile was fake. Amazing how Toshiro could already tell.

"Tch, sure your fine. And the sky's green." Toshiro retorted leaning over to pinch Momo's cheeks.

"Gah, Shiro-chan, cut it out!" Momo laughed, trying to fend him off. This caused Toshiro to grin widely.

"Oh, you don't like when I pinch your cheeks?" He asked, instead noogying Momo's head, causing her hair to pull out of its bun and fly into a million different directions.

"Toshiro!" She cried unhappily, trying to fix her hair as the boy in question laughed softly. She pouted at him for a moment before she was struck with an idea. She picked up her Hello Kitty mug and held it over Toshiro's head threateningly.

"Don't make me turn you into a brunette!" She told him. Her serious expression, so out of place on her usually smiling face, only caused Toshiro to laugh harder. Momo sighed. There was no point in trying to scare Toshiro, he knew her too well.

A sudden thumping noise interrupted their merriment. Toshiro instantly quieted and moved to stand next to Momo, trying to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. After a moment, he determined it was directly outside the bus. But what was it?

"What do you think it is?" Momo whispered, curious more than scared. The thumping was loud, as if directly outside the bus.

"I don't know." Toshiro replied, also in a whisper. Their bus driver was gone for the night, and everyone else was asleep. It was up to him and Momo to solve the mystery.

However, the mystery never needed to be solved. A few minutes later, with one last crash that failed to wake up any of the bus's occupants, the noise quieted.

"Well, I'm glad that's ov-" Momo was cut off by a loud creaking noise. Toshiro and Momo were frozen in place as a dark figure creeped in through the window by the kitchenette. The person was hidden in the gloom, so Toshiro and Momo were unable to see who it was.

Toshiro moved to stand in front of Momo. Whoever this was would have to go through him before he could so much as touch the girl.

Momo, on the other hand, had other plans. Reaching behind her, she grabbed Hisagi's precious laptop and lobbed it at the intruder, hitting him square in the head.

"OUCH!" The figure shouted in pain, falling to the ground clutching his head. However, that voice definitely did not belong to a man… or a boy, for that matter. No, if anything, it belonged to a girl…

"Momo? Captain? What's going on?" Rangiku asked sleepily from her bunk, her disheveled head peeking out from behind the curtain. The rest of the band was up now, yawning and stretching, all wondering the same thing.

"Why the hell did you wake us up, you little punks?" Renji peered at the two through blood-shot eyes, still not entirely awake. Ichigo, standing just behind him, suddenly did a double take as the intruder moved into the light.

"My God, what'd you throw at me? That hurt!"

"RUKIA?!" Ichigo and Renji shouted in unison, staring at the diminutive girl.

Toshiro watched her, curious. _So this is the famous Rukia_. He thought to himself, having heard plenty of stories about her from Ichigo and Renji. She was just as pretty as the strawberry had described her to be. She was shorter even than Momo, who had to be one of the shortest people Toshiro had ever met. (A/N: Oh, the irony!) She had hair so black it was almost blue, and eyes the color of amethysts. Yes, she was definitely pretty, but…

_She doesn't hold a candle to Momo._ Toshiro decided, silently slipping back to sit down on the couch, his role of protector over now that the danger had been identified as friend.

"Hey, guys!" Rukia greeted them cheerfully, waving.

"Rukia!" Momo exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement over the arrival of their old friend. The two girls hugged, happy to see each other after all this time.

"Momo, Renji, Ichigo, it's so good to see you all again!" Rukia said, smiling at them. Her smile turned into a smirk as her eyes came to rest on Ichigo. "So, Ichigo, are we gonna pick up where we left off?"

Before Ichigo could answer, Momo stepped in. "Now, now, no fighting! Wait till later, okay you two? Anyway, Rukia, this is Rangiku Matsumoto, our manager, and Toshiro Hitsugaya, our new lead guitarist."

"I've heard about Snowpuff over there, he's been in all the mags since he signed on with the band!" Rukia stated, flapping a hand Toshiro's way. Toshiro could feel a vein threatening to pop in his forehead.

"Snowpuff?" He asked menacingly. Rukia, never one to miss out on a challenge, turned to face him, arms crossed and scowl in place.

"Yeah, I did. Gotta problem with that, Shorty?" She questioned menacingly.

"You're shorter than me!" The boy snapped.

"You guys! C'mon, quit it!" Momo said, stepping in between the two and placing her hands in front of their faces.

Rukia sighed. "Okay, no biggie. I'm just happy I was able to find you guys!"

"How did you find us? And what are you doing here, anyway?" Renji asked, crossing his arms and a scowl forming on his face. His tone had turned from overjoyed to suspicious in the blink of an eye.

"Pssh, it wasn't hard! All I had to do was figure out where you would stop from here to your next concert. This was the best location, so of course I knew you'd be here! As for your second question…" Rukia's voice petered out for a moment, her gaze downcast to her shoes. "Well, me and Nii-sama, we… kind of got in another fight. I think we just… need some time to cool off."

Toshiro was surprised by this other side of Rukia. It seemed so… helpless.

"Rukia, of course you can stay with us. Right, guys?" Momo pleaded, her eyes big and wide. How could they say no to a face like that?

"Of course!" Ichigo shouted loudly, pumping his fist into the air. Hisagi nodded mutely before turning around and slipping back into bed. Renji punched Rukia on the arm as answer, and Rangiku clapped her hands, excited.

"Excellent, another girl!" She said excitedly. "Maybe I'll finally get the chance to have some proper girl talk with someone!"

"Hey, you have me!" Momo protested.

"Momo, don't get me wrong, you're a doll, but let's face it, you're not the girliest girl in the world. I need someone to shop with, and do my nails with, and trade juicy gossip with, and-"

"Sorry, you're going to have to keep looking. I hate all those things." Rukia replied, a wide grin spreading across her face, her apparent sadness forgotten.

"Oh, poo! Screw all of you, I'm going back to bed!" Rangiku huffed, turning on her heel to march back to her bunk.

"Rukia, there's a spare bunk at the end. Go ahead and make yourself at home!" Momo urged, the smile on her face genuine. Rukia suddenly lurched forward and hugged the girl.

"You're the best." She barely whispered. She turned back to the other three guys. "You all are." Her eyes flashed with playfulness as they landed on Ichigo. "And tomorrow morning, your ass is getting kicked so bad, you'll be sharing tea with your ancestors!"

"In your dreams!" Ichigo snorted, disbelief evident in his voice and demeanor.

"We'll see, we'll see." Rukia replied, gracefully making her way through the mess cluttering the floor of the bus as she made her way to the bathroom. Turning back around to face them in the doorway, she told them, "And don't bother waiting for me to come out, I'm going to be a while." With that, she slammed the door shut. Within minutes, the soft hiss of the shower running could be heard throughout the bus.

Renji sighed. "That's Rukia for you." He stated before trudging to bed, Ichigo following close behind. This left just Momo and Toshiro, once again, alone on the bus.

"So, Rukia…" Toshiro started, looking down at a bowl of what once might have been grapes ooze over the sides of the china.

"Rukia grew up on the streets with Renji. Her parents died a while ago and she was abandoned by her last living relative, her older sister, Hisana." Momo whispered, her voice sorrowful as she sat back down on the couch next to him. "She, Renji, and a bunch of other kids off the streets lived together, like a family. But… they were all killed one day. Only she and Renji were left. They were eventually picked up for foster care, and then, she was adopted by the Kuchiki family. Rukia's 'Nii-sama,' as she likes to call him, is very protective of her… he means well, she just looks so much like her sister, his deceased wife, he's not sure how to show his love." Momo explained, tears wetting her eyes for a moment. They never fell, and when she looked back up to meet Toshiro's eyes, she had another of her heart-stopping smiles on.

"Wow… that's so much. I never thought one person could take all that." Toshiro muttered, his eyes flickering to the bathroom door.

"Yes… Rukia's a very strong individual. She's independent and fiery, and refuses everyone else's' help. But she looks out for her friends." Momo told him.

"Hmm…" Toshiro glanced up at the clock and almost had a hernia. "And now, it's time for the two of us to go to bed… _now_."

"Haha, what are you, my dad?" Momo teased, poking him in the ribs.

"No, I just want to make sure your not dying of exhaustion tomorrow." Toshiro retorted, poking her back in the ribs, causing her to squeak.

"Nighty!" Momo said cheerfully as she scurried up the ladder to her bunk.

"Night." Toshiro called quietly. He made his way to his own bunk and slipped in. He stared up at the top of his bunk for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened in the past hour. Eventually, Toshiro turned off his overhead light and dug under the covers, but not before noting that Momo's light was still on.

Woo, that was a long one! (At least, for me it was) My idea of how Rukia and Toshiro would act if they ever met XD

Thank you **Moonlight-Milkyway, HitsugayaXxXHinamori, rolf-hitsugaya, neokillerqc, lil' katie, nexuswarrior **(Glad you liked it!)**, JoaNyMar12** (Momo's a sneaky little Soul Reaper!)**, xIxLikexMusicx, Momo – Toshiro, KnowledgeandImagination, AznVKai, HalfJillHalfJack, Ophianara Blade, and Lord Slayer **for your fabulous reviews! My inbox was flooded with your love!

This chapter was inspired by a conversation held at:

**w w w . t h e i n s a n e a r m y . p r o b o a r d s . c o m **(no spaces)

Check it out and join in the fun! … Please? :3

Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review! Keep an eye out for the next update, which is going to be the special edition Halloween chapter I promised you all a while back. I'm putting it up Halloween night, so be sure to R'n'R… unless you don't want to, that is! That's perfectly fine as well, I'd just love it if you would… anyway, thanks again!!


	11. Ordinary Day

An excerpt from the Global Blab, a celebrity news site:

New Mystery Girl with the Soul Reapers?!

By Toshimori Umesada

That's right, folks, you can say you heard it here first!

A new mystery girl has recently been spotted with the popular band, the Soul Reapers, everywhere they go. Starting as soon as three days ago, this new girl has been wherever the band's been, whether it be backstage or back home, a.k.a the "Soul Bus," as dubbed by fans.

A close friend of the band, choosing to stay anonymous, told Global Blab that, "She's a new backup singer, but usually the rest of the band sings backup for Momo, so I don't see why she's with them unless she's going out with one of the guys."

Indeed, this new girl seems very close with the entire band, considering how she had only appeared on the radar a few days ago.

A source says that she, "Is always hanging all over Ichigo and Renji, it's sickening." Another source claims that she's, "A poser trying to steal the band's money. She's going to take everything they have and disappear, you mark my words!" And yet, another source has told this reporter that, "She's just a friend," probably one of the most outrageous theories yet!

Well, whatever the sources say, I know one thing for certain: that girl is _short!_

* * *

Momo giggled as she read the end of the gossip article. Hisagi grinned as he went back to the search engine to look at the rest of the latest "Mystery Girl" news. The band was currently in their room, waiting backstage, waiting for their call to start the concert.

Hisagi had been less than thrilled the other morning when he found out his laptop had been used as a projectile missile the night before…

ZOMG, FLASHBACK TIME!

* * *

Hisagi woke up to find he had slept in later than anyone else… even Momo.

He lay in bed for a moment, trying to remember the night before. There was a crash, and a new girl, and… oh, right, the new girl. Hisagi tumbled out of bed and made his way to the kitchenette. There, he found his bandmates, Rukia, and Rangiku sitting at the table, chatting. He mumbled a good morning before starting to search for coffee. It was only then that something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he found his laptop on the floor of the bus, a few keys popped out of the keyboard. The empty mug he was holding fell into the carpet as his eyes widened and face grew pale.

The bus grew silent as the others finally realized what had happened. Momo in particular look horrorstruck.

"Wh-What… What happened to my laptop?!" Hisagi wailed as he picked it up gently, like it was his pet puppy instead of a bunch of wires held together in a box of metal.

"Well, you see, umm…" Momo began, staring nervously down at her hands.

"Oh, is that what hit me last night?" Rukia asked, curious, as she munched on a granola bar.

"You got hit by a laptop?" Ichigo wondered, staring at Rukia in shock.

"Yup. In the head." Rukia replied casually, as if getting hit in the head by a laptop was a regular occurrence for her.

Renji chuckled at Ichigo's stunned expression. "Rukia gives 'hardheaded' a whole new meaning." He explained as he took a swig from his soda can.

"That's great and all, but who threw it?!" Hisagi asked, practically hysterical at this point.

"Does it really matter? I'm cool with it." Rukia said.

"Well, I'm not! Someone took it and threw it! Do you realize what could have happened? The casing could have come off, the screen could have cracked, the-"

"I did it, okay? So just shut up about what could have happened and let me put the keys back in." Toshiro stated irritably, eyebrow twitching as he got up and took the laptop away from Hisagi.

"You did it, captain?" Rangiku asked, dumbstruck.

"Why?" Renji echoed.

"I threw it because someone was sneaking into the bus through the window and it was the first thing I could find. I only forgot about it because it slipped my mind, seeing as how the 'intruder' was an old friend of yours." Toshiro explained as he popped the keys back into the keyboard. He was done in minutes and handed the laptop back to its owner before silently stealing over to the lounge and plopping down on a couch, picking up one of Rangiku's magazines.

Everyone in the kitchenette sat for a moment in silence, letting all that information sink in. Finally, they broke into conversation, all but two. Hisagi had sat down and turned on his laptop to check and make sure it was alright. Momo had quietly gotten up and sat down next to Toshiro. For a moment, they sat together, Momo staring down at her lap and Toshiro staring at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Th-Thank you." Momo eventually whispered. She looked up at Toshiro with relief in her eyes, a small smile lighting up her face.

"No problem. Just don't do it again. Next time… next time, I'll handle the bad guy. You just stay safe, alright?" Toshiro replied gruffly, looking away as his face flushed. _Not again! _He chided himself furiously

"Okay, Shiro-chan, I'll try." Momo said, another one of those gut-wrenching smiles replacing the small, timid one from earlier.

Momo didn't realize it, but Toshiro was dead serious.

* * *

Rukia came up from behind the two and leaned on Momo's shoulder.

"What'cha looking at?" She asked playfully.

"The Mystery Girl articles, they're hilarious!" Hisagi chuckled as he clicked on the next link.

Rukia frowned as she read the page. "These are all lies. How rude!" she huffed, standing up straight and crossing her arms. "Is there anyone we can call about this?"

"1-800-I'm-Too-Sensitive." Renji called from the other side of the room.

"Seriously Rukia, you should have seen this coming when you decided to come along with us." Ichigo noted as he strummed his guitar.

"Shut up, dummies!" Rukia shouted. Turning back to the laptop, she snorted as she read one particular line in the article.

"Singer? Going out with Ichigo? Who writes this b.s.?" Rukia demanded.

"Gossip mongers." Hisagi answered as he scrolled down the page. Momo, finishing the article, left the other two to go stand with Toshiro, who was leaning against the wall by himself.

"You okay?" Momo asked concernedly.

"Fine." Toshiro responded, not opening his eyes. Momo knew him well enough to know something was up.

"You know, I used to have stage fright for the longest time. I could never sing with strangers watching me." Momo said, looking down at the ground with a soft smile as she remembered her old memories. "But Renji and Kira helped me overcome it. It comes up whenever I have to sing alone, but when my friends are up there with me, I can do it. I just tell myself, 'Que sera sera,' and it all seems better."

The two bandmates were silent for a moment before Toshiro opened his teal eyes and gave a small smile of his own.

"Thank you." he said. Momo smiled in return. _It's good to see him smile every once in a while. He doesn't do it nearly enough_. Momo decided.

Just then, the door burst open and a group of people bustled in. The one in the lead, a tall, willowy man with straw blonde hair in a straight cut, looked around the room. Standing next to him was another man, taller than everyone in the room, with a spiked brown afro and mirrored sunglasses on despite being inside. Just behind the two of them was a third man, with hair as white as Toshiro's and a build to rival any regular at any gym. And following them in were two girls, one an extremely short girl with spiky blonde pigtails and the other a cute young woman with dyed lime green hair.

The blonde man grinned as his eyes came to rest on Ichigo. "Ichigo. Hope you've been keeping up with your practice." He remarked a bit snidely.

Ichigo, in turn, frowned. "If you mean since the concert from a few days ago, then yeah, I have." He replied.

Momo watched the exchange curiously. She always found it entertaining how fights could so easily break out between the two.

"Hey, Momo." A familiar voice called softly, pulling Momo away from the stand-off. It was Toshiro, of course, and for some reason he looked pretty embarrassed.

"What is it Toshiro?" She asked turning to face him.

"Erm… who are those people?" he questioned, ashamed.

Momo laughed a little. "That's right, you haven't even met them yet, have you? That's the band we're touring with and opening for, the Death Gods. The blonde guy," she pointed him out as he continued to verbally spar with Ichigo. "Is Shinji, lead singer and guitarist. The man standing next to him," she pointed to the brunette. "is Love, bass guitarist. And that last man is Kensei, drummer." She finished, pointing to the white-haired man, who had his arms crossed. "Oh, and those two girls are Hiyori and Mashiro." Momo pointed them out respectfully. "They're not part of the band, they just travel with them, kind of like Rukia."

"So they're freeloaders." Toshiro remarked with a snort. This caught the attention of the short blonde girl, who raced up to him and slapped him with her sandal.

"Got something to say to me, Shorty?!" She shouted, her brow creasing into a frown.

"The hell was that for?!" Toshiro shouted back, his temper rising as he glared back at the girl in turn.

"Eh, Hiyori, picking fights already?" Shinji called from across the room.

"He called me a freeloader!" She shouted at Shinji as well.

"Well, you are…" Shinji replied, shrugging. His eyes landed on Toshiro, who was still pissed about being slapped by a sandal. "You would be the Toshiro I was hearing about, correct?"

"Yes. Call me Hitsugaya." The white-haired youth said flat out, frown firmly in place.

"Oooh!" Mashiro was across the room in two seconds, peering at Toshiro curiously. "Wow, how old are you? You're barely taller than Hiyori! But you really are cute!" She giggled as she ruffled his hair, much to Toshiro's chagrin. "Hey, hey, did you know Mashiro and Toshiro rhyme?! We're going to get along great!" She cheered as she waved her arms around in the air.

"MASHIRO! What are you doing?! Quit being stupid and leave everyone alone!" Kensei yelled at her, the vein in his forehead pulsing angrily.

"Waah! Kensei's being scary! Where's Hachi, HACHI!" Mashiro shouted as she ran back out the door, Kensei not too far behind.

"Don't go tattling to Hachi every time you get yelled at!!" They could hear him shout as he chased her down the hall.

Shinji sighed dramatically before turning back around to peer at Toshiro. "Y'know, you're not that bad a guitarist at all." He said with a smile. "Maybe we should have a Battle of the Bands sometime, see who's the better band?"

"You're on!" Ichigo shouted with a smirk.

"You're all going down!" Renji followed, punching the air.

All of a sudden, the door opened once more to reveal a large man with… a pink mustache… and a tall, blonde man, the expression on his face appearing quite bored. The bald man smiled at them all. He was opening his mouth to say something when a flash of strawberry blonde flew past him and into the middle of the room.

Enter Rangiku.

"Quick guys, you're on in five!" She shouted at them all, beating the pink mustached man to the chase. He shrugged and smiled again.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Ms. Matsumoto." He chuckled. Turning to the room once again, he elaborated, "The concert start time was pushed up, so instead of going on in a few hours, you are, as Ms. Matsumoto put it, on in five."

"WHAT?!" The Soul Reapers collectively shouted, grabbing equipment and making a mad dash for the door. The last out of the room was Momo, being dragged along by Hisagi, laughing her socks off.

* * *

It was a crisp night. The crowd in the stadium was pulsing with excitement, laughing and shouting and triple-checking camera batteries. Momo nervously peered around the edge of the curtain. She took a deep breath.

"Que sera sera." She whispered.

"Want some company?" Toshiro asked, appearing from the shadows behind her. Momo jumped and spun around, clutching her heart.

"Sh-Shiro-chan! Don't scare me like that!" She yelled sullenly, although she really was happy to see him. She could always use a friend to stand by her before the band started playing. But… "What are you doing in this wing? Don't you come in off the right wing with the others?"

"I thought I would be better off coming out from here." Toshiro stated in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Besides, I need to know who those two guys back there were."

"The man with the mustache was Hachi, the Death God's manager, and the blonde man was Rose. Rose actually likes to play guitar as well, but he didn't want to be in the band." Momo explained as she peered around the side of the curtain again.

"Hmm, I wonder why…?" Toshiro wondered out loud, gazing off into the distance. He suddenly looked up, staring up at the sky. A warm smile overtook his features, making Momo stop breathing.

"The sky's really pretty tonight." He remarked offhandedly. Turning to Momo, the smile stayed on his lips. "Well, let's go." He held his hand out to her, waiting for her to take it.

Momo stared at the hand for a moment, a little dazed. Finally, she met Toshiro's eyes. Returning his smile for one of her own, she placed her hand in his and let him lead her out on stage, to be met by the roar of their fans.

"Hey everyone, are you ready for the Soul Reapers?!" Momo asked, as Toshiro made his way to her right, Renji sat behind his drum set in the back, and Hisagi and Ichigo took their places on Momo's left.

Her question was answered by hundreds of voices.

"That's what I thought!" Momo laughed. Turning to her fellow band mates, she held up two fingers. They grinned in response. They knew what song they were starting off with.

The guys started playing the opening chords to the song. Momo clapped her hands over her head, getting the crowd even more pumped as they recognized one of the Soul Reaper's most famous songs. Taking the mic in hand, Momo began to sing…

Monday morning  
Here we go again  
We get this over  
No more sleeping in  
Responsibilities  
All that I see  
A five day work week  
Up ahead of me

I, I, I, I don't like Tuesdays  
Uh, uh, unless it's on a holiday  
If I can make it to Friday  
Then things can start going my way, 'cause

Saturdays, Sundays  
Are my favorite days  
Who needs Mondays anyway?  
Gotta plan your escape  
You only get forty-eight  
Live it up nonstop  
Just can't get enough

Saturdays, Sundays  
Mondays, no way  
Tuesday, Wednesday  
Can't wait for Friday

So no more vacation  
You know I'm waiting  
But until then  
Got to be patient  
Take a week off  
Sounds good to me  
But that's fiction  
And not reality

I, I, I, I don't like Tuesdays  
Uh, uh, unless it's on a holiday  
If I can make it to Friday  
Then things can start going my way, 'cause

Saturdays, Sundays  
Are my favorite days  
Who needs Mondays anyway?  
Gotta plan your escape  
You only get forty-eight  
Live it up nonstop  
Just can't get enough

Saturdays, Sundays  
Mondays, no way  
Tuesday, Wednesday  
Can't wait for Friday

Call up your best friends  
Crank up the Soul Reapers  
It's time to start it up  
Because you know you love

Saturdays, Sundays  
Mondays, no way  
Tuesday, Wednesday  
Can't wait for Friday

Saturdays, Sundays  
Are my favorite days  
Who needs Mondays anyway?  
Gotta plan your escape  
You only get forty-eight  
Live it up nonstop  
Just can't get enough

* * *

Momo finished the song with a smile on her face as she waved to the crowd. The night had only just begun.

And she felt like she could touch the stars.

* * *

I would understand if you all want to kill me right about now. I'm so sorry for not updating in so long! ;w;

But, but, do I get a few points for making this one longer than usual? Five pages, c'mon, doesn't that earn me a few points? *crickets* Guess not… T~T I explained a bunch of things I kind of left hanging in the last chapter, and we finally know who the other band is! XD

Well, if I have any reviewers left, I'd like to thank them now! Thank you **KnowledgenandImagination, screamerXOXO, Momo – Toshiro, neokillerqc, rolf-hitsugaya, xIxLikexMusicx **(Thanks for the song suggestion! :3)**, MoonLightView, doubt and trust, HitsugayaXxXHinamori, Ophianara Blade, AznVKai, nexuswarrior, HalfJillHalfJack, JoaNyMar12, Lord Slayer, and Corentin. **I'M SO SORRY!!

Well, if you're not completely angry at me, please review? And thank you so much for reading… I'm a failure of an authoress! *runs away crying*

Oh! And the reason I never posted the Halloween chapter was cause I got a horrible, horrible virus that deleted all of my documents. ALL OF THEM! So I had to start this chapter, and all my others, by scratch. Number 1 reason for why I was so late to update. But I'm sure none of you really care, so I'll just shut up now! Au revoir, et je suis desole!!! ;w;


	12. You Found Me

"Look out, don't hit him! …Where did you learn to drive, Jersey City?! Don't hit that guy on your right! This is the exit- no, wait, never mind, keep going, keep going! Sheesh, what part of 'keep going' don't you understand? Are you even paying attention to the speed limit? It's 80, not freaking 60 Ichigo, speed up!"

Ichigo felt the vein in his forehead threaten to pop. Kokichiro had asked for a few days off (who could blame the guy?) so the Soul Reapers had decided to take a little side trip. As it happened, Ichigo lost the Rock-Paper-Scissors match, and ended up driving the bus, with Rukia as his navigator.

You can see how that's turning out.

"Hello? Look at the road! When was the last time you checked your rearview mirror? Your swerving all over the place, keep your eyes on the road dummy!!"

"Rukia, either shut up and tell me which exit we turn onto or go play poker with everyone else!" Ichigo snapped angrily, pointing over his shoulder at the hunched forms of his band mates at the kitchenette table.

"Feel free to join us, midget! I could use a footstool!" Renji taunted from where he sat.

"Full house!" Rangiku announced as she flourished her cards for all to see.

"Ooh, that's going to be hard to beat!" Momo commented.

"I'm out." Hisagi sighed, frustrated, as he placed his cards face down on the table.

"Royal flush." Toshiro stated calmly, laying his hand down on the table.

"Eh?! Captain, you can play poker?!" Rangiku asked, shocked, as she leaned forward to examine his cards.

"I'm playing, aren't I?" Toshiro retorted irritably.

Renji looked between the two, looked down at his own cards, and sighed. "I'm out too." he said as he threw his cards down on the table dejectedly.

"Shall I deal you in, Rukia?" Momo asked the petite girl as she collected all their cards and began shuffling, albeit a bit clumsily.

"Sure, why not? Watching Ichigo's driving is just going to give me an ulcer." Rukia replied as she got up and walked over to the group. Ichigo's vein beat a tattoo on the inside of his forehead.

"Just calm down Ichigo, almost there, not much further…" He muttered under his breath as he scowled out the window at the road stretched before him. He couldn't stay angry for long though. They were heading back to where it all began…

Karakura Town

* * *

"Jeez, we didn't get here till seven." Renji moaned unhappily as he locked the bus door behind him.

"So, what're you guys doing?" Ichigo asked. He had parked the bus in the back lot of the hotel they were staying at to keep the people clueless as to who was in town. They weren't too worried about fans here, but all the same, it was better to be safe then sorry.

"I'm going to visit Kira!" Momo said cheerfully, waving her arms in the air over her head.

"I'm going with her!" Renji stated, smiling as he adjusted his favorite pair of sunglasses.

"I'm going too." Toshiro said from where he stood by the tree they had parked the bus under.

"You're going too, Toshiro? Okay then." Ichigo remarked. "Me and Rukia are going to visit my family."

"Rukia and I." Rukia corrected him as she strapped her bunny backpack to her shoulder.

"Whatever." Ichigo muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes at Renji whose smile grew wider.

"That leaves Hisagi to help me with the shopping!" Rangiku cheered as she hooked arms with Hisagi and dragged him off.

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?!" Hisagi shouted as he tried fiercely to break out of Rangiku's death grip.

"Should we be worried?" Toshiro asked as the pair disappeared around the corner.

"Even if we were, Ran has that look in her eyes. There's no reasoning with her until she's gone shopping." Ichigo explained. "Alright, meet you guys back here around ten. Ran should be done by then." (A/N: I've made Ichigo a poet XD)

"Sounds good, see you!" Momo called over her shoulder as she began walking away, Toshiro and Renji close behind.

Rukia sighed. "Well, let's get going strawberry." She told Ichigo as she started walking in the opposite direction.

"It's my family we're visiting, I'm leading the way!" Ichigo said as he stormed ahead. Within minutes, they were racing down the street, cursing at each other so vividly that mothers placed their hands over their children's ears and construction workers gave them admiring glances.

* * *

"How do you all know Rukia anyway?" Toshiro asked as the trio walked down the sidewalk.

"Rukia used to come around from time to time, despite what her dad said. We'd all hang out together." Momo smiled. "Sometimes, she'd stay over at Ichigo's house and sleep in his closet."

"In his closet?" Toshiro asked, surprised.

"Well, she is pretty small." Renji chuckled. They walked for a while in silence before Toshiro spoke up again.

"Aren't you guys worried about whose covering for us at the concert while we're here?"

"Not at all!" Momo replied, stepping carefully over a particularly nasty crack. "Ichigo asked his cousin to cover for us while we're here. She's really good, so I'm sure the Death Gods won't complain."

"And if they do, we'll stand them up in the next concert!" Renji declared with a smirk.

"Ah, we're here!" Momo exclaimed. They had finally arrived at the gates of the university. The old brick buildings stood tall and proud, with ivy creeping up the sides. A security guard sitting in a booth at the gate stopped them before they could go any further.

"Name and manner of business." he inquired, checking his clipboard importantly.

"Momo Hinamori, Renji Abarai, and Toshiro Hitsugaya. We're here to visit our friend, Izuru Kira." Momo told him. Toshiro was shocked. How could she so blatantly give out their names like that?

But the guard merely nodded and opened the gate remotely from his security booth, letting the trio onto the school campus. This would later get him spoken to very severely by the principal.

* * *

"Okay, here's what we'll do. You go in first, cause my dad likes you and wouldn't hurt you. You soften him up, and then I'll come in next. Got it?" Ichigo asked, turning to Rukia only to find her gone. Looking up from where he hid behind the neighbor's car, he found Rukia knocking on the door of his house.

"Rukia!" Ichigo hissed indignantly.

"C'mon, strawberry, dad's going to be happy to see us!" Rukia told him mockingly.

Cursing under his breath, Ichigo rushed to Rukia's side, scowl firmly in place. A second later, the door slammed open, and Isshin appeared.

"MY THIRD DAUGHTER!!!" he cried, pulling Rukia into a bone-crushing hug. He soon noticed Ichigo standing awkwardly in front of him, and promptly dropped Rukia in favor of attacking his son with a drop kick that Ichigo narrowly dodged.

"AND MY GOOD FOR NOTHING SON!!!" Isshin shouted as he made to punch Ichigo in the face.

As they began to brawl on the doorstep, Rukia continued into the house. Nothing had changed as far as she could tell. There was the giant picture of Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki. Karin was at the dining room table, doing homework as she listened to her iPod. And the delicious smell of dinner wafted from the kitchen, indicating Yuzu was hard at work.

Rukia inhaled happily. She was home.

* * *

The auditorium was as quite as a grave. The only voice echoing against its walls was that of the professor as he wrote out equations on the blackboard behind him. Students were either taking notes or sleeping on their desk, one of the two. A blonde boy in one of the middle rows of seats was scratching his pen across the paper, head bent so close to the desk his nose occasionally brushed against his notes.

Just then, the doors crashed open, revealing Renji, arms crossed over his chest, grinning at the room's surprised occupants.

"IZURU KIRA! Get your scrawny emo ass out here!" he roared.

At the mention of his name, the blonde boy flinched and slowly turned around.

"Renji?!" he yelped, shocked to see his old friend.

"Heya, Kira!" Momo called from behind Renji, smiling and waving at him.

"Momo?!" Kira got up out of his seat. Rapidly tossing his things into his bag, he threw it over his shoulder and ran up the stairs, two at a time, and left the class behind. For a moment, the students sat there in shocked silence. Finally, the professor coughed and went back to his lecture as if nothing had happened.

"I can't believe you guys are really here!" Kira shouted, his usual gloom forgotten in the presence of his friends. Renji laughed and scratched the back of his head as Momo gave Kira a hug.

"We've all missed you so much!" she exclaimed. Taking a step back, she smiled as she looked him over. "Are you thinner?"

"What? Well, I mean, I'm busy, y'know?" Kira said lightheartedly.

Renji snorted. "I bet you haven't eaten in the last 24 hours, have you?"

Kira's shoulders slumped. "How'd you know?" he asked.

"I know you too well." Renji teased as he punched Kira playfully in the shoulder.

"Oh! Kira, this is Toshiro. Toshiro, this is Kira." Momo introduced the two, pulling Toshiro forward from where he had been standing a couple feet away from the reunion. The two stared, sizing each other up, before Kira stuck his hand out in front of him and smiled.

"Izuru Kira, it's a pleasure!" he said.

Toshiro quirked an eyebrow before shaking Kira's outstretched hand. "Toshiro Hitsugaya… nice to meet you." he muttered.

"Now that introductions are out of the way… wanna go get some dinner with us?" Momo asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Kira replied as his stomach howled in anger.

And so they started back down the road together, laughing and talking about the one thing all four had in common: music.

* * *

"Ran, c'mon, don't you think you've bought enough?" Hisagi groaned as he struggled to hold the bags and boxes of items Rangiku had purchased.

"Please, I haven't even started! Ooh, Rukia would look adorable in this!" Rangiku squealed as she held up a frilly pink dress. Hisagi gagged upon laying eyes on the offensive dress.

"Please Ran, Rukia wouldn't be caught dead in that." Hisagi retorted as he attempted to scratch his nose with the corner of a box.

"You're right." Rangiku sighed as she placed the dress back on the rack. "Let's go, Hisagi, I think there's a shoe store just down the street."

Rangiku led the way out of the store, Hisagi stumbling along behind her, complaining every step of the way. However, Rangiku wasn't even five steps out of the store when she crashed into someone.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped irritably. She froze when she heard the response.

"Now, is that anyway to treat an old friend, Ran?" A grinning voice asked. Slowly, Rangiku looked up into the face of-

"Gin?!"

* * *

Le gasp! Oh, the drama! Gin appears! What will happen next??

This was a really long chapter for me: five pages front and back! I swear, this story is going to have me killing all the rainforests! DX To be honest though, my favorite part of this whole chapter was the bit about Rukia calling Ichigo's house home.

I'm so proud of myself; I cleaned up my profile so it's all pretty now! There's a section there to answer some frequently asked questions about this story, so you might want to check it out. Anyway, thank you **KnowledgeandImagination, AznVKai, xIxLikexMusic, Momo – Toshiro, Lord Slayer, JoaNyMar12, AnimeLuver4everandevr, rolf-hitsugaya, neokillerqc, Ophianara Blade, screamerXOXO, nexuswarrior, and doubt and trust** for your reviews! I appreciate your support so much! I didn't realize how many reviews this story had until recently, so thank you all so so so much!! X3

Thanks for reading, please review! Until the next chapter!


	13. Breaking Inside

It was late when Toshiro, Momo, and Renji returned to the bus. After they had had an extremely loud dinner that had resulted in them being very politely kicked out, they had wandered around Karakura Town. Eventually finding their way to the park, they were quick to start a game of soccer. It was only when Kira had mentioned he had a test to study for that they finally parted ways, promising to see each other again before the band left for the tour again.

"Man I forgot how much I missed Kira!" Renji yawned as he stretched his arms over his head. Toshiro felt a slight twinge. He had grown into life with the band; he had to admit, he thought of them as friends, probably the best he had ever had in his life. Hearing all the memories the three shared, he couldn't help feeling… like an outcast.

Again.

"How could you forget?" Momo teased, poking Renji in the side. Just like the first time he had met them, Toshiro watched as the two were quick to start a tickle fest. Shaking his head, he continued ahead to the bus.

Opening the door, he found that most everyone was already back. However, he could feel something was wrong. It was eerily quite in the usually boisterous bus. Glancing around, Toshiro found Rukia sitting on the edge of the couch in the lounge, staring blankly down at her feet. Ichigo was lying on his back next to her, throwing a squeeze ball up and down, up and down. Hisagi was seated at the table in the kitchnette, an untouched cup of sake in front of him. It took Toshiro only a nanosecond to realize what was missing.

Rangiku was nowhere to be seen.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the bus's occupants. He walked over to Ichigo, who nodded mutely at him before concentrating back on the ball.

"What happened?" Toshiro asked. "Did somebody die?"

"No." Ichigo replied in a far-off tone. Glancing up at Toshiro, he continued. "Remember what Momo told you about Rangiku? About the childhood friend who up and left her one day? Well… he came back."

Toshiro's eyes widened at the news. "Is she okay?" he inquired.

"Hisagi says she was in shock last time he saw her. But… she had a smile on her face. A really happy one." Ichigo sighed, meeting Toshiro's eyes for the first time. The white-haired guitarist was surprised to see anxiety in the usually cool strawberry's eyes. "He asked her stop traveling with us and come live with him and… she's thinking about it."

Toshiro stared at Ichigo for a moment, digesting this new information. He couldn't imagine the band without their bubbly manager in the thick of things, sleeping off a hangover or painting Renji's toes pink while he slept. If she left… what would they do?

"Where is she?" Toshiro managed to ask, keeping his emotions in check.

"Dunno. Ran's probably with him now. Last time she called, she sounded so… cheerful." Ichigo muttered, anger clouding his eyes as he threw his ball a little too hard and it bounced off the ceiling to hit Rukia in the back of the head. She whipped her head around, glared at Ichigo, and then stalked off to her bunk. Ichigo watched her disappear behind her curtain guiltily before he sat up on the couch.

"She wouldn't just leave us, right?" Toshiro heard Ichigo mumble.

"She'll do what she thinks is right." Toshiro replied as Renji and Momo finally burst in through the door, breathless from laughing.

"Hey, what happened?" Renji asked, quickly catching on to the depressed atmosphere in the bus.

Toshiro left Ichigo to explain the situation to the pair, pulling himself into his bunk to sleep off the day.

* * *

When Toshiro awoke at seven, as usual, he found that he had fallen asleep in his clothes from the day before. Deciding that the jeans were still pretty okay, he pulled his shirt off in exchange for a fresh one from his drawer. Wandering into the kitchen, Ichigo was already up, sipping coffee while doodling on a napkin. The strawberry nodded in greeting as Toshiro grabbed an apple and bit into it. They were silent for a time, interrupted only by the crunch of Toshiro's breakfast. Finally, Toshiro cleared his throat.

"Is… is she back yet?" he asked, hesitantly, averting his eyes from Ichigo's.

"No," Was the dejected reply. Toshiro bowed his head before lifting it as Ichigo continued, "and it looks like Momo's gone MIA on us too."

"What?" Toshiro pressed, voice taking a razor edge in it's tone.

"She's not here." Ichigo clarified, drawing a crown on a scowling snowflake dancing on his napkin.

"You don't know where she is?" Toshiro inquired, mind racing with the countless dangers Momo could be in at that very moment.

"No. She does this from time to time, you know… she just wanders off by herself. She'll come back when she's ready." Ichigo explained, now giving the princess snowflake a sword as it attacked a floating bear's head.

Though Toshiro wished he could believe his old friend, he couldn't deny the knot his stomach was twisting itself into.

_I'll just walk around for a bit. Maybe I'll run into her,_ he told himself, convincing himself that he was not going to look for her, just… wander until he happened to find her.

"I'm going for a walk." Toshiro called over his shoulder as he left the bus, to be greeted by a cool breeze and blue skies. He let the rays of the sun warm his snow white hair for a moment before setting off across the pavement.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon. Toshiro let out a sigh of frustration. He had walked all over this godforsaken town without any sign of Momo. He was turning around to walk back to the bus – maybe he had returned while he was out – when something Momo had said yesterday echoed through Toshiro's mind.

_It's worth a shot,_ he decided as he determinedly set off towards the tall hill that loomed over Karakura Town.

* * *

The sky was dyed with vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and pink when Toshiro reached the top of the hill. He had a perfect view of not only the town below, but also the sunset before him. He was dazzled by the brilliant colors before he suddenly remembered his mission. A quick scan of the hilltop revealed just what he was looking for.

The hunched shape of Momo as she sat watching the sun sink out of sight.

"So you've been hiding out here, Bed-Wetter?" Toshiro shouted, relief flooding through his body. She was safe. That was all that mattered.

Momo jumped at the sound of his voice. Spinning around to face him, Toshiro caught sight of a tear streaked face and red eyes before Momo quickly burrowed into his arms, obviously trying to hide from the guitarist's shocked gaze.

"Momo?" he asked, his voice softer now.

"Is-Is something wrong Shiro-chan?" the singer questioned in a shaky voice, trying to mask it with a cheery tone.

"You've been crying." Toshiro stated bluntly.

"Is it that obvious?" Momo laughed.

Toshiro walked over and sat down beside her. The girl instantly slumped into him, sobs raking her back as tears soaked his shirt. Toshiro hesitated before wrapping his arms around her.

They sat like that for a time, long after the sun had set and the stars had started to appear one by one. Eventually, Momo pulled away from Toshiro's protective hold, a small smile on her lips.

"How did you find me?" she asked, voice cracking from lack of use.

"'I love to watch the sun set more than anything else, from the highest point possible.'" Toshiro quoted her. "Something about it bringing back memories."

Momo nodded. "Yes… from my childhood…" She was quiet, thinking, before she spoke up again, "I… never did tell you about my life before the band, did I?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Toshiro assured her.

"No. I want to tell you. I trust you." Momo replied, her smile stretching into one of the genuine ones that made Toshiro return with a small one of his own.

"I… never knew my real parents." she began uncertainly. "I was raised by my granny. There weren't a lot of kids in my neighborhood, but there was one little boy who lived next door to us. He was practically part of the family." The memory made Momo smile; Toshiro frowned a little. He was _not_ jealous. "Anyway, we grew up together like brother and sister. We were always getting into trouble, eating watermelon, watching the sun set… he was my best friend."

"I had a good life… until my granny died."

* * *

I.

AM.

SO.

SORRY.

;w;

Bad writing knows no bounds. Obvious foreshadowing is obvious. Cliffhanger makes readers hate the authoress even more.

Authoress shall now crawl under a rock and die to hide from the hate mail she is sure to get.

... Whoever's still reading, thank you!

To keep this from happening ever again, try stalking me either on my DA account or irritating me at t h e i n s a n e a r m y . p r o b o a r d s . c o m (no spaces)

I'M SORRY!


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